Companies come clean

Some US$232 million in 140 investment projects by Taiwanese companies in China that did not have prior Taiwan government approval were registered with the Ministry of Economic Affairs by Tuesday. The Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Statute Governing the Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) in April to allow Taiwan-based businesses to register their illegal Chinese investments with the ministry during a six-month period starting in July. However, businesses investing in Chinese industries in which the ministry prohibits investment remain unable to apply and may be punished. The registration campaign is the third of its kind following previous campaigns in 1993 and 1997. More than 8,000 companies registered investments worth US$2 billion in the first 1993, while some 8,600 firms doing so in 1997, reporting investments worth US$3.2 billion.