Beijing is drafting policies to attract Taiwanese to live and work in China, a Chinese government spokesman said on Wednesday, in a direct appeal to Taiwanese.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman An Fengshan (安峰山) said that Taiwanese would be offered incentives in employment, education and state benefits.
Speaking at a bimonthly news conference, An said that the measures — to be rolled out at a time yet to be determined — aim to boost “economic and social integration between the sides.”
Beijing froze government-to-government contacts with Taiwan last year and has been increasing diplomatic and economic pressure.
The latest measures appear to represent the carrot to that stick, although previous attempts to win over Taiwanese through the pocketbook have had little effect. About 1 million Taiwanese are believed to live in China, either permanently or part-time, mainly for work and study.
To Beijing’s proposed measures, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said that as long as they are advantageous for Taiwanese businesspeople’s investment and development in China, are not against Taiwanese laws and would not harm national dignity, Taipei veiws the change positively.
The council said that the Cross-Strait Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement signed in 2012 already has regulations concerning the benefits and called on Beijing to continue implementing the agreement and responding to Taiwanese businesspeople’s demands.
The benefits offered to Taiwanese students by the Chinese authorities are part of their Taiwan policy, the council said, adding that Taiwan’s higher education — with quality teachers and academic freedom — is still a good choice compared with China’s and called on Taiwanese students to take into consideration the differences in political, economic and social systems between the two sides.
An criticized plans to visit Taiwan by the exiled leader of a Chinese ethnic minority regarded by Beijing as seeking independence for the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
World Uyghur Congress president Rebiya Kadeer plans to travel to Taiwan at the end of next month at the invitation of the Taiwan Solidarity Union.
“We are resolutely opposed to Rebiya Kadeer engaging in activities in Taiwan in any form. In inviting this person to visit Taiwan, Taiwanese independence forces are seeking to create an incident that is sure to undermine relations between the sides,” An said.
Kadeer was imprisoned for more than five years in China for her advocacy of rights for Xinjiang’s Muslim Uighurs and was exiled to the US in 2005.
She denies China’s accusation that she backs a violent campaign to overthrow Chinese rule in Xinjiang.
China already affords Taiwanese considerable advantages, including the right to enter China and remain as long as their “Taiwan Compatriots Pass”remains valid.
Taiwanese were among the biggest investors in China after it opened its economy in the 1980s and 1990s.
China absorbs about two-thirds of Taiwan’s outward investment and about 40 percent of its foreign trade.
Yet as China’s economy grew into the world’s second-largest, young Taiwanese especially became increasingly wary of the economic threat it posed. Many blame China for stagnating wages and a comparative loss of competitiveness as China moved from cheap manufactured products into high-tech realms that Taiwan had long specialized in.
Such concerns helped put Tsai in power in last year’s election and she has responded with her “new southbound policy,” a push to expand the nation’s economic links with Southeast Asia.
Additional reporting by CNA
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS