The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has approved amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) in a bid to deter Chinese capital from infiltrating Taiwan.
The amendments, which include punitive measures, have been forwarded to the Executive Yuan for further review, the council said.
An increasing number of Chinese businesses have recruited talent in Taiwan by making investments via third-party companies, with local assistance, it added.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Other Chinese investors have circumvented existing review measures by “borrowing” Taiwanese licenses, it said, adding that such actions have severely disrupted Taiwan’s economy and hurt its national interests.
An amendment to Article 40-1 states that a for-profit Chinese business at a third-party location cannot conduct company operations in Taiwan unless authorized and that all subsidiaries established in Taiwan by the company must comply with the Company Act (公司法).
How these companies are defined is to be determined by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the council said.
Company employees contravening the amended act would face up to three years in prison, and a fine of NT$15 million (US$540,346), it added.
An amendment to Article 93-1 added that companies found to be a front for Chinese firms or lending their licenses to Chinese making unauthorized investments in Taiwan would face a fine of up to NT$25 million, it said.
Offenders would be ordered to cease such actions immediately and, if necessary, the government could suspend the rights of the company’s shareholders, it added.
Raising the prison sentences from one year to three years would better protect the development of local industries, it said.
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