Canada's government introduced a bill yesterday that would allow it to block foreign takeovers of local companies -- both large and small -- purportedly for national security reasons.
Existing legislation allows Canada to intervene in transactions worth more than C$250 million (US$200 million). The amendments to the Investment Canada Act would allow the government to nix takeovers worth less than C$250 million.
It comes only days after allegations surfaced of Chinese corporate espionage in this country and less than one year after a failed takeover bid by the state-controlled China Minmetals Corp (中國五礦集團) for Canadian mining behemoth Noranda Inc, which first sparked concern about foreign ownership rules.
Pundits have suggested the legislation is aimed at stemming China's growing appetite for Canadian resources, but government officials denied any connection and insist Canada does not wish to curtail foreign investment.
"There's no link. We're trying to get our laws in line with other G8 countries," said Christiane Fox, a spokesperson for Industry Minister David Emerson. "The problem right now is that we don't have the ability, as other countries do, to review or prevent foreign investment that might compromise national security."
Last week, opposition lawmakers pressed the government to crack down on alleged Chinese espionage during the House of Commons question period.
"China has a huge interest in owning our natural resources and dominating our economy. Our country is losing billions [of dollars] through economic espionage," Deputy Conservative Leader Peter Mackay said, repeating accusations made by two former Chinese officials who defected to Australia.
Former Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin (陳用林) and policeman Hao Fengjun (郝鳳軍) claimed their government had some 1,000 spies in Canada. Chen abandoned his post as first secretary at the Chinese consulate-general in Sydney last month while Hao defected in February.
Chinese officials in Canada denied the allegations.
However, what constitutes a national security concern is not clear.
"The actually concept of national security may evolve, so it's not explicitly defined in the legislation," Fox said, citing military, dual or mining technologies as possible targets.
According to Statistics Canada, foreign ownership has remained relatively unchanged in recent years at C$1 trillion or 22.3 percent of the total corporate assets held in Canada, primarily in the manufacturing, oil and gas industries.
The US remains the largest foreign player in the Canadian economy, peaking at the turn of the century at 62.3 percent of foreign-controlled assets after a decade of steady growth prompted by US-Canada free-trade agreements.
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source