The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said yesterday it has imposed stricter rules on Chinese nationals who come to Taiwan for professional training amid concerns that they might take jobs away from locals.
Proposing amendments to the Rules Governing Permits for Professional Personnel from the Mainland Area Engaging in Professional Activities in Taiwan (大陸地區專業人士來臺從事專業活動許可辦法) and Rules Governing Permits for -People from the Mainland Area Engaging in Business Activities in Taiwan (大陸地區人民來台從事商務活動許可辦法), Chinese businesspeople or professionals will now be allowed to stay for no longer than a month, down from three months previously, with an annual quota of 100 trainees per company, the ministry said.
The proposed amendments, which await final approval from the Executive Yuan, came after Taiwan-based Young Fast Optoelectronics Co was investigated for allegedly using Chinese workers under the pretext of sending them to Taiwan for business training, the ministry said.
Local labor rights groups have accused the company of laying off workers so they could hire cheaper Chinese labor, and staged repeated protests until prosecutors started to look into the case.
Chu Cheng-chi (朱政麒), a spokesman for the protesters, said such illegal activities could be behind the sharp increase in Chinese businesspeople and highly skilled professionals visiting Taiwan in recent years.
Citing statistics from the National Immigration Agency, Chu said 180,000 applications by Chinese businesspeople and professionals to visit Taiwan were approved last year, up from 90,000 the previous year. As of August, more than 160,000 such applications had been approved, with the total number expected to top 200,000 by the end of this year, Chu said.
He said if such a scenario were true, it would run counter to the government’s promise “not to open Taiwan to Chinese laborers.”
The Beijing-friendly administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has vowed not to open its job market to Chinese nationals, despite signing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with Beijing in June.
The Ma administration has argued that the deal would boost economic growth and employment. However, opponents fear it will not only erode Taiwan’s sovereignty, but also affect its job market.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all