China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) last month convinced 18 senior representatives of a Taiwanese business association in China not to attend an investment event in Kinmen County as part of attempts to interfere with Taiwan’s elections, a source said yesterday.
The Kinmen event, hosted by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) — the quasi-official intermediary body authorized by the government to negotiate matters of a technical or business nature with China — was aimed at encouraging Taiwanese businesses in China to invest in Taiwan.
However, the TAO contacted senior business representatives by telephone and told them not to attend the event, the source said.
Photo: Reuters
The TAO in August organized a separate investment event in China for “Taiwanese compatriots,” at which representatives of Taiwanese business associations in Xiamen and Kunshan criticized Vice President William Lai (賴清德) for a trip he made to the US in August.
“This was all organized by Beijing as part of efforts to influence the outcome of Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election,” the source said.
When the SEF event was held last month, none of the 18 senior business representatives contacted by the TAO attended the event, likely due to fear of retaliation from Beijing if they did, the source said.
“In both situations — when instructed to criticize Lai, and when told not to attend the SEF event — Taiwanese businesspeople in China were powerless to object, due to fear of reprisal,” the source said.
Despite the TAO’s interference, there were still hundreds of participants at the SEF event, and many businesses have since relocated from China to Taiwan or to a third country, the source said.
Many Taiwanese businesses that previously operated in China have moved operations to Taiwan due to the Democratic Progressive Party’s policies, National Cheng Kung University political science professor Hung Chin-fu (洪敬富) said yesterday.
“This is also a vote of no confidence in the Chinese economy under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平),” he said.
“We are likely to see Beijing continue to use Taiwanese businesspeople and business associations in attempts to interfere with the elections,” he added.
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