The Conference on Sustaining Taiwan's Economic Development came to a close last week, and it remains difficult to reach a consensus on cross-strait economic and trade policy. Since the cross-strait relationship is a political issue, cross-strait investment and trade policy is unlikely to be separated from political considerations and focus solely on economic issues. Taiwan is a democracy with a free economy. It can open itself up to the world, but can never fully do so toward China.
China is responsible for this state of affairs because of its longstanding threats and the 800-odd ballistic missiles it has aimed at Taiwan.
Recently a Hong Kong media outlet said that 14 Chinese enterprises have been placed on a Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry blacklist. Taiwan cannot ignore this fact.
If Taiwan refuses to relax trade and investment restrictions on China, it is sure to come under pressure from Taiwanese businesspeople and foreign investors. Businesspeople don't care about hatred between nations; they only want to make money.
When multinational corporations pressure their governments to open up to China, it is little wonder the latter don't feel sympathetic toward Taiwan. Firms in Japan and the US often complain that there are no direct cross-strait transportation links.
It is true that the lack of direct cross-strait transport causes some commercial inconvenience, but what has really prompted interest in direct links from Japan and the US is cheap operating costs in China.
Capital is indispensable to a nation's economic development. The reason China has grown faster than other communist nations is not because Beijing has a genius for pursuing economic development, but because it has the advantage of Taiwan and Hong Kong, which provide China with capital, technology and management know-how.
Taiwan's China-bound investment accounts for around a quarter of China's inbound foreign investment. Taiwan is losing so much to China that its development has been affected. This includes people of fugitive tycoon Chen Yu-hao's (
The most pressing issue facing Taiwan is that the government must implement the "active management" policy for China-bound investment while formulating a strategy to attract foreign investment. At the same time that Taiwan defends itself, it should also go on the attack.
Taiwan's financial sector still trails far behind Hong Kong's. With Hong Kong's freedom and legal system eroding following its return to China in 1997, Taiwan should take advantage of this by focusing on two issues.
First, it should further open its economy and get rid of unnecessary restrictions. The government should provide the best possible services to business travelers and attract investment, particularly from China's non-governmental sector.
Second, the government should revise regulations governing the financial sector. As it is difficult to check the operations of Taiwanese firms in China, the government should not consider allowing them to go public in Taiwan. However, since China is restricting foreign capital from investing in property, Taiwan should try to attract these foreign (including Chinese) investors.
The government should do all it can to improve the investment environment. For instance, it should try to reduce labor costs by placing restrictions on brokers for foreign labor.
It should also work to benefit the general public by rooting out corrupt practices and avoiding manipulation by special interests hostile to Taiwanese self-determination.
Paul Lin is a political commentator based in Taipei.
Translated by Daniel Cheng
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on April 9 said that the first group of Indian workers could arrive as early as this year as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India and the India Taipei Association. Signed in February 2024, the MOU stipulates that Taipei would decide the number of migrant workers and which industries would employ them, while New Delhi would manage recruitment and training. Employment would be governed by the laws of both countries. Months after its signing, the two sides agreed that 1,000 migrant workers from India would
In recent weeks, Taiwan has witnessed a surge of public anxiety over the possible introduction of Indian migrant workers. What began as a policy signal from the Ministry of Labor quickly escalated into a broader controversy. Petitions gathered thousands of signatures within days, political figures issued strong warnings, and social media became saturated with concerns about public safety and social stability. At first glance, this appears to be a straightforward policy question: Should Taiwan introduce Indian migrant workers or not? However, this framing is misleading. The current debate is not fundamentally about India. It is about Taiwan’s labor system, its
Japan’s imminent easing of arms export rules has sparked strong interest from Warsaw to Manila, Reuters reporting found, as US President Donald Trump wavers on security commitments to allies, and the wars in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons supplies. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military industrial base. Her government would formally adopt the new rules as soon as this month, three Japanese government officials told Reuters. Despite largely isolating itself from global arms markets since World War II, Japan spends enough on its own
On March 31, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released declassified diplomatic records from 1995 that drew wide domestic media attention. One revelation stood out: North Korea had once raised the possibility of diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In a meeting with visiting Chinese officials in May 1995, as then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) prepared for a visit to South Korea, North Korean officials objected to Beijing’s growing ties with Seoul and raised Taiwan directly. According to the newly released records, North Korean officials asked why Pyongyang should refrain from developing relations with Taiwan while China and South Korea were expanding high-level
RSS