A group of 10 high-level economic officials from the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council (
The Chinese delegation, led by He Shizhong (
Members of the delegation include Mu Hong (
According to a spokesman from the Chinese National Federation of Industries, the officials are scheduled to visit several Taiwan businesses, including the Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) and the Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), for discussions on investment in China and related regulations and incentives.
In addition, the Chinese delegates are also scheduled to pay a visit to high-tech firms at the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (新竹科學園區).
"It is the strong aspiration of the people on the two sides to see closer economic ties between Taiwan and the mainland," He said, firing salvos at Taiwan's controls on China-bound investment.
"The `no haste, be patient' policy runs against market forces and the people's interests," He said.
The policy, which bans high-tech investments and any single venture worth more than US$50 million, was introduced in 1996 by former president Lee Teng-hui (
Indeed, the visit by the high-level Chinese economic officials marks an explicit "ignoring" -- by Taiwan's private industry and business sectors -- of the government's publicly stated position of not welcoming Chinese officials to come to Taiwan to woo investors. The practice is banned under Taiwan law.
The Chinese officials are slated to depart Taiwan from Kaohsiung on March 30.
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