The UK-based Sun newspaper on Aug. 17 published an editorial, titled “Britain should throw open doors to Hong Kong’s brightest after China breaks handover promises,” which said that the Hong Kong elite should be allowed to live in the UK.
“We can throw our doors open to the best and brightest in the small territory, giving them a ticket to the front of the immigration queue,” the editorial said.
“Leaving the EU, we’ll have the chance to build an immigration system fit for the 21st century... Even before that, we can send a signal that Britain is still a home for those who want to get on in a free society,” it said.
If we compare Taiwan’s area and population with Southeast Asian countries, its risk of declining competitiveness is more than 10 times higher than the risk facing the UK. The nation’s birthrate has fallen to among the the lowest in the world in the past seven years and the population will start to decline soon, with the National Development Council expecting it to peak at about 23.8 million in 2021 and then start to decline to between 17.3 million and 19.7 million by 2060.
Moody’s Investors Service senior analyst Anushka Shah late last year said that maintaining the manufacturing industry’s productivity is crucial to Taiwan and that although the industry is the main driver of the economy, it is at increasing risk of being hollowed out.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has launched a series of policies to promote childbirth, but it is more important to employ a flexible immigration policy to tackle the risk of declining competitiveness in a timely manner, although importing foreign labor will not solve the increasing risk that the manufacturing industry will be hollowed out.
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) proposed a slogan during his mayoral campaign last year: “Get the goods out and tourists in so everyone can make a big fortune,” but the problem is that if Taiwan focuses on promoting agricultural products and local tourism, it will be difficult to fundamentally enhance the strength of the manufacturing industry.
In terms of expanding domestic demand, allowing the Hong Kong elite with their purchasing power to immigrate here could create demand in the real-estate market and local tourism sector in central and southern cities. It could even boost utilization rates of the costly “urban rail transit” systems that are part of the Cabinet’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.
With incentives such as lowering the immigration policy’s investment threshold to NT$5 million (US$159,226) from NT$6 million, the government could open doors for Hong Kong’s elite. Lower home prices in Taiwan compared with Hong Kong is another incentive. Hong Kong could add new blood to Taiwan’s labor force, while the nation could also attract young “technology creators,” as a large number of the Hong Kong elite would likely prefer to start their own businesses in a more liberal environment.
With the right preparation, Taiwan’s manufacturing industry could be bolstered and exports with high added value could boost the economy.
If 30,000 members of the Hong Kong elite immigrated to Kaohsiung over the next 10 years, imagine the resources and energy they would bring to the city.
Hsu Cheng-wang is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Architecture and Interior Design at Shu-Te University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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