The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday, for the first time, explicitly branded China’s trade barrier investigation of Taiwan as a move intended to interfere with January’s presidential election.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on April 12 announced that it was launching a probe into trade barriers imposed by Taiwan on 2,455 Chinese agricultural products, textiles, coal, minerals, metals, plastics, rubber, chemicals and construction materials.
The announcement was made on the day that Vice President William Lai (賴清德) was nominated by the Democratic Progressive Party as its presidential candidate.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
A week prior to the announcement, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California after traveling to Guatemala and Belize.
The ministry said that it planned to complete the investigation by Oct. 12, but it could be extended to Jan. 12 next year.
That is the day before Taiwan’s election.
The restrictions on Chinese goods were implemented when Taiwan joined the WTO, and China had voiced no objection over the years, the MAC said.
The sudden launch of the investigation and its time line is clearly politically motivated, the MAC said, adding that it is an obvious attempt to interfere with Taiwan’s election using economic coercion.
Hsu Chia-hao (許家豪), an assistant professor at National Sun Yat-sen University’s Si Wan College, yesterday said that the timing did show Beijing’s determination to influence Taiwan’s elections using economic coercion.
The result of the investigation could be published during the campaign period to sway the election, or it could be used afterward depending on the outcome of the vote, Hsu said.
If the candidate China supports fails to win the election, the investigation could be used by Beijing as “punishment,” he said.
Beijing has tried to win people’s hearts by offering economic and trade benefits since former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was in power, a strategy that proved unsuccessful during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, Hsu said.
China is expected to continue its politically motivated economic coercion against Taiwan, but would focus more on military and diplomatic pressure, he said.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Thursday announced that the number of items under investigation had been adjusted to 2,509.
General Chamber of Commerce chairman Paul Hsu (許舒博) yesterday said that cross-strait tensions could lead to anything, as hostile US-China relations are causing all kinds of problems.
Taiwan and China are important trading partners, he said, adding the two sides should show mutual goodwill and improve relations by communicating more.
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