Traditional industries do not fear competition from China, but it must be on an even playing field, business people said at a meeting with Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) yesterday.
But the business people urged the government to be mindful of traditional industries when signing any economic agreements with China.
“Tea farmers are not afraid of competition from China. We are confident about the quality of our products. But how can we compete when there are many counterfeit Taiwanese teas coming from China?” asked Chen Chung-chien (陳聰鑑), a tea industry representative.
Chen also criticized the government for breaking its promises to help tea farmers, such as an unfulfilled vow to subsidize irrigation water and land.
Furthermore, he said that China-based tea farmers had an advantage because China did not levy property taxes and offered them free irrigation.
Businessman Yu De-er (游德二) from the ceramics industry said Chinese ceramics makers have lower overhead because they do not need to worry about environmental concerns or offer good employment conditions to their workers.
“I agree that the market should be allowed to develop freely, but this is not a game of survival of the fittest. The government must intervene when its people are being unfairly dealt with,” he said, adding that he was confident his industry could take on competition from China.
Businessman Huang Kuang-yi (黃光藝) from the bedding industry urged the government to negotiate with hypermarts such as Carrefour or RT Mart to set up special “made in Taiwan (MIT)” sections featuring only local produce.
The government must also crack down on businesses that mislabel their products to mislead consumers into thinking they are buying MIT products, he said.
Huang said that as far as the bedding industry was concerned, its products were mostly for domestic consumption; therefore, the signing of an agreement to avoid double taxation such as the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) would be useless to his industry.
Lai, however, said that the purpose of an ECFA was to promote fair trade and to safeguard the rights of Taiwanese industries by preventing discrimination.
Even though some industries feel that a provision against double taxation is unhelpful, “maybe in 10 years time you will decide to export your products and by then, you will be able to benefit from this policy,” she said.
Meanwhile, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Secretary-General Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) said yesterday that the third meeting between his organization and the Association of Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) could be held at the beginning of next month, which is earlier than expected.
Kao returned from Shanghai on Thursday night after negotiations with Beijing to discuss the progress of preparations for the third meeting between SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).
“Basically, the Chinese have agreed with our proposal to hold the third Chiang-Chen meeting in Nanjing. If all goes well, we do not rule out holding the meeting before early May,” Kao said.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS