Hwan C. Lin (
Politically, cross-strait economic integration has prompted more Taiwanese to switch their allegiance to Beijing, and voters have begun to tilt toward the pan-blue camp. As they increase their investment in China, the chairmen of Formosa Plastics Corp, Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp and the Evergreen Group have all openly voiced their support for Beijing.
Last month, more than 50 Taiwanese business tycoons flew to China to attend the economic forum held by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Every one of them waited patiently to shake hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Their obsequious behavior is only the tip of the iceberg. The Chinese government's influence has been felt across Taiwan's political spectrum and in the detail of the country's economic management. Even Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that if the KMT-CCP forum reached conclusions beneficial to Taiwan, the government should not ignore those conclusions just because of who reached them. With this and other recent statements, the government is simply pandering to the needs of businesspeople.
There is also talk within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that the Cabinet should lift the current 40 percent ceiling on China-bound investment, and allow 0.18-micron chip manufacturers, naphtha cracking plants and Taiwanese banks to expand their operations in China.
In light of these moves, President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) "active management" policy seems like a last-ditch effort made by a lame duck administration. With the DPP adopting such an attitude, it is hardly surprising to hear one particular Taiwanese businessman remark recently that the "one country, two systems" formula is better than Taiwan's current political system.
The deterioration of law and order in Taiwan is closely related to increasing cross-strait integration. Aren't issues relating to the smuggling of drugs, illegal firearms, robbery and fraud that the media always give full coverage, all related to China? Su even vowed to resign if he fails to restore social stability within half a year. If Taiwan and China move closer together, there is no way we can restore the nation's deteriorating social stability.
The biggest problem related to cross-strait economic integration is that Taiwan is being marginalized by the sheer size of the Chinese economy. If ambitious Taiwanese businesspeople continue to abandon Taiwan to do business with China, the nation will soon become just a cog in the Chinese economic machine.
If companies like CMC Magnetics Corp, the world's biggest maker of recordable DVD discs, decide to expand in China, they will pour all their time, capital and talent into the nation, and undermine investment in Taiwan.
The question is: Will the headquarters of these enterprises remain in Taiwan when they finish setting up their branch offices in China? The autocratic regime in Beijing wants Taiwanese businesspeople to transplant their operations completely.
The material needs of those entrepreneurs and the rich are satisfied while people in the middle and lower strata of society still face a host of problems, such as unemployment. None of these problems will disappear until China's standard of living catches up with ours. In the long run, China will rise to world power status at the expense of the nation.
Kenichi Ohmae, one of the world's leading business and corporate strategists, recently visited Taiwan to give a speech filled with his fondness for China, although he revealed that without Taiwan, China could not have risen to prominence.
Ohmae spoke with candor, for he was under no pressure to make the statement, from the Chinese or anyone else. Indeed, to manage the vast China market, Taiwan has poured US$280 billion into China, and around 2 million Taiwanese employees live their permanently.
The whole government avoids talking about Taiwan's security and sovereignty, crazily throwing their weight behind this "grand project." William Kirby, a professor at Harvard University, gave an early warning, when he said that Taiwan is controlled by Beijing, and that one of the few things that Taiwan is still able to decide is the manner in which it wants to open itself up to China.
Five years later, it seems that even this decision will be made by Taiwanese businesspeople who are under the thumb of China.
Huang Tien-lin is a national policy adviser to the president.
Translated by Daniel Cheng
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