Taiwan has long seen its international allies switching allegiance to an ascendant Beijing, but now there are also fears of a brain drain of the nation’s youth as they pursue careers in China.
Cross-strait tensions have soared since China-skeptic President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took power in May last year, with Beijing cutting all official communication.
Young Taiwanese in particular have increasingly developed a sense of pride in their Taiwanese identity. They have been at the forefront of anti-Beijing sentiment in the past few years, famously occupying the legislature in protest at trade deals with China in the Sunflower Movement of 2014.
However, with monthly starting salaries for college graduates unchanged at below NT$30,000 since the 1990s and property and consumer prices spiraling upward, some are taking a more pragmatic approach.
China is also wooing young Taiwanese talent in what analysts say is a “soft power” push to sway political sentiment.
Katherine Wang, 33, quit kindergarten teaching in Taipei and colaunched a business in May offering a variety of courses for young Chinese women in Xiamen, saying she feels “hopeless” about Taiwan’s economy.
“I see a ray of hope in Xiamen and working there makes me happy. I want to make a name for myself and my partners, and hopefully expand our business to all over China,” she said.
Wang receives free housing and office space as an incentive from the Xiamen City Government, an example of the perks offered by provincial authorities, which also include generous grants.
According to China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), more than 6,000 young Taiwanese are working or interning at more than 50 start-up bases launched since 2015.
Top Chinese political and business leaders, including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd founder Jack Ma (馬雲), have also encouraged younger Taiwanese to chase careers in China.
While Wang says she has no strong political views, others who do are putting them to one side for jobs.
One 20-something has opted to work in China even though he supports Taiwanese independence — a concept intolerable to Beijing.
“I just focus on how to do my job well,” the young worker said on condition of anonymity, saying he hoped it would be a stepping stone to an international career.
“My Chinese colleagues sometimes say things like ‘Taiwan is a part of China,’ but that’s their freedom of speech,” he said.
There are already well-established business links between Taiwan and China.
Taiwanese manufacturers flocked to China to take advantage of its resources and cheaper labor after restrictions were lifted in the late 1980s.
China is also Taiwan’s biggest trade partner and market, with exports there totaling US$112 billion — 40 percent of last year’s total.
However, the youth links have an extra dimension, National Dong Hua University professor Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒) said.
“China realizes that it needs to take a soft approach and use ‘carrots’ to attract [young people] in the hope that they will have some impact at a critical time, such as the presidential election,” Shih said.
“Young people might not actively support Beijing’s agenda, but their hostilities can be reduced and that for Beijing is a worthwhile investment,” he said.
A survey released by the Taipei-based Chinese-language Global Views Monthly in March showed that nearly 60 percent of respondents from 20 to 29 years old were willing to work in China.
Interest was reflected in a recent recruitment drive by China’s Hainan Airlines, with more than 1,500 Taiwanese applicants applying for 80 jobs based in Beijing, according to Chinese state media.
Some say such cross-strait exchanges are an alternative way to promote stability as official ties worsen, but others fear a brain drain that will hurt Taiwan’s competitiveness.
A commentary published in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) this month accused Beijing of trying to divide the island and draw young people away from their political ideals.
“If young generations can’t see hope in Taiwan and feel pessimistic about the future, and if poverty becomes a fact, how can they feel the obligation to insist on democracy and defend ideals?” it said.
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