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.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS