President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has opened a “back door” for Chinese investment to be exempt from restrictions in the planned free economic pilot zones (FEPZs) before the zones are established and the cross-strait service trade agreement clears the legislature, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday.
“It is illegal. It is like a false start in the 100 meter dash,” DPP Legislator Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) told a press conference.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) secretly bulletined an amended Measures Governing Investment Permit to the People of the Mainland Area (大陸地區人民來台投資許可辦法) on Thursday last week, which lifted the restrictions on the category, ratio and amount for Chinese investment as long as there are no national security concerns, Cheng said.
As the service trade pact is still awaiting legislative screening and the special statute on FEPZs — which are to be established across the country in the hope of boosting the economy by liberalization of personnel, logistics and financial flows, relaxation of investment restrictions and tax incentives — has yet to be sent to the Legislative Yuan, the administration has unilaterally and illegally opened the door to Chinese investors, Cheng said.
The unilateral measure would likely make the FEPZs the “Chinese economic pilot zones,” DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
The move was indicative of Ma’s strategy to bypass legislative monitoring and allow the influx of Chinese investment regardless of whether lawmakers eventually ratify the trade agreement or not, Chen said.
Chinese investors could now invest on any sector in the FEPZs they want, Chen said.
Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強), spokesperson for the Democratic Front Against Cross-Strait Trade in Service Agreement (反黑箱服貿民主陣線), said the government had violated the Constitution because the FEPZ special statute has not been enacted.
The regulation on Chinese investment should be in place before the legislature begins screening the service trade pact, Lai said.
“Otherwise, the administrative branch could liberalize those investment categories scrapped by lawmakers by administrative orders and the legislative screening would be meaningless,” Lai said.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS