Top officials delivered a mixed message to Taiwanese businesspeople working in China yesterday, with Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) vowing to create a more investment-friendly environment to entice investment in Taiwan, while Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) called for Taiwan’s participation in Beijing “One Belt, One Road” trade intiative a way to boost local businesses international visibility.
Speaking at a Dragon Boat Festival get-together in Taipei for China-based Taiwanese, Deng said Taiwan’s business environment has an edge over China in terms of transparency and rule of law, while Taiwanese enterprises have seen their operating costs in China rise because of higher labor costs and more stringent environmental and labor laws.
The complaints China-based Taiwanese businesspeople file with the ministry are mostly disputes about land-use rights and compensation for land acquisition, he said.
Photo: CNA
The government has committed itself to assisting Taiwanese businesses in investing at home and positioning themselves globally, Deng said, referring to a new online export momentum assessment system.
The government has also been acquiring vacant properties and establishing an industrial land reserve system and an industrial land database, he said.
Department of Investment Services Director Vivian Lien (連玉蘋) said the Ministry of Economic Affairs set its goal for domestic investment by overseas Taiwanese businesspeople this year at NT$53.5 billion (US$1.73 billion), and 76 percent of that amount, or NT$40.4 billion, was reached just at the end of last month.
Not only did that exceed the ministry’s expectations, it surpassed the investment amount reached during the same period last year, she said.
Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland chairman Kuo Shan-hui (郭山輝) told the gathering that he would support Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) presidential bid on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) ticket, saying Hung has concerned herself with the predicament of Taiwanese businesspeople in China, according to the Chinese-language Apple Daily.
“What concerns Taiwanese businesspeople most is the cross-strait relations, and any party that can consistently involve itself with the investment rights of Taiwanese businesspeople in China is good,” Kuo said.
Taiwanese businesspeople have suffered from the global and Chinese economic slowdown this year, so it is imperative that Taiwanese businesses undergo an industrial transition to survive, Kuo said.
Chinese recently announced “Made in China 2025” plan would spur the automatic production in China and boost Taiwanese industrial upgrades, Kuo said.
The Chinese government is engaged in economic and political reforms, which promise a fairer business environment for Taiwanese, with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) promising to“rule the country in accordance with law” in his New Year speech this year, Kuo said.
However, addressing the increasing competition that Taiwanese businesses are facing from their Chinese counterparts, Taiwan Merchant Association in Shenzhen president Chen Ho-tai (陳合泰) said the “One Belt, One Road” initiative is a turning point for Taiwanese enterprises to launch an industrial transition and avert conflicts with Chinese companies.
Lin echoed Chen’s view, saying that Taiwan’s participation in the Chinese initiative is crucial to creating new market space, as countries included in the “One Belt, One Road” framework are populous and have lower GDPs — prospective “blue oceans” of business opportunities.
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
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
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
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