Some of the proposals made by Chinese negotiators during the latest round of negotiations on a planned trade pact between Taiwan and China could affect up to 632,000 jobs in the financial, communications, technology and media sectors, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said yesterday.
Citing internal government reports obtained by the party, TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said that during last month’s cross-strait negotiations on a economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), China proposed that 700 items appear on a list of goods and services that would be subject to immediate tariff concessions or exemptions.
The “early harvest” list is expected to form the bulk of the controversial agreement, in contrast with other items that would be implemented gradually. While negotiations on the lists have already taken place, neither side has released details of the early harvest lists.
TSU sources said China’s early harvest list concentrated on the financial, communications, technology and media sectors. If passed, it could dramatically increase Chinese investment in these sensitive industries, they said.
The party said that if the industries came under Chinese control, Taiwan’s white-collar workers and professionals would be faced with an era of lower wages and benefits, and be forced to compete with their Chinese counterparts.
“This nation’s workers will be reduced to Chinese laborers,” Huang said. “After all … how can our workers compete when the Chinese companies bring their own management teams, whose wages will likely be significantly lower than those of Taiwanese?”
Statistics from the Council of Labor Affairs show that the four industries together employ about 632,000 workers, with professional and other high-wage jobs accounting for a significant percentage.
Huang’s comments came in the wake of media reports yesterday that said the government’s loosening of policies on Chinese workers could have serious repercussions for the nation’s white-collar workforce.
While the government has acknowledged relaxing regulations on Chinese workers, it emphasized that it would continue to bar workers in certain service professions from coming into Taiwan.
Some examples of Chinese professionals that would continue to be barred from entering the nation include doctors, accountants, lawyers, architects and teachers, the bureau said.
Despite the assurances, Huang said yesterday that a loophole in existing regulations meant that it did not prohibit Chinese professionals from coming to Taiwan and applying for licenses here.
The former head of the Mainland Affairs Council also criticized the government for refusing to release its own early harvest list, a move he called “irresponsible.”
Government officials have expressed optimism that an ECFA can be signed before June. While the government says that the agreement — one of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) cornerstone policies — is needed to increase Taiwan’s economic competitiveness, the opposition has expressed concern that it could lead to a loss of jobs due to cheaper competing goods from China.
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