Caught in the middle
Tiwanese investors in China say they often find themselves used as pawns in political issues affecting cross-strait ties. Yesterday, over 100 businessmen were invited by the Straits Exchange Foundation to Hsinchu, the site of a detention facility for overstaying Chinese visitors. As staff reporter William Ide discovered, the delegation was asked to make the appropriate noises in China to speed up the repatriation of the facility's `guests'
In an effort to speed up the repatriation of illegal migrants from China, officials from the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) -- Taiwan's semi-official body in charge of cross-strait affairs -- took members of Taiwanese business associations on a tour of a detention center for illegal immigrants in Hsinchu yesterday.
The visit was aimed at prompting Taiwanese businessmen to talk to people in China, in the hope that delays and foot-dragging by Beijing authorities on the repatriation issue will be soon resolved.
The issue of repatriation became particularly thorny after President Lee Teng-hui (
"We hope you will give us your suggestions and opinions ? and that you can help the Chinese authorities understand what the situation is like here," said Lai Hsieh-yi (
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Although Taiwan authorities are serious about solving the current deadlock, Lai said that at the center, they try to treat the detainees "like family."
"Some like it here so much they hate the idea of leaving," he said, before presenting a slide show on the facility to over 100 visitors who do business in China.
Authorities say that since Taiwan began permitting visits by Chinese relatives of Taiwanese citizens in 1987, around 38,000 illegal overstayers have been detained.
PHOTOS: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
It has cost the government about NT$600 million to incarcerate the overstayers.
"China always has some excuses. The waves are too big or the boats are being fixed. It's a strange situation," said Wu Hsin-hsing (
"We hope you can talk with them about the [detainees]," Wu said.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
In the end, a simple task that should take six months, can some times take years, authorities say.
Taiwanese businessmen were given a police escort to the Hsinchu detention center, and Lai pointed out that they had even purchased a new gate to improve the center's look.
The solution to the problem, say cross-strait officials, is to urge the rich network of Taiwan's business associations in China to persuade the authorities to stop stalling.
But as to whether this will solve the problem, some businessmen thought it unlikely.
"I don't know what this will do," said Chen Shih-ling (
"It's hard to say what everyone will do with the message," he added.
While most seemed a little out of place at the center, wondering why they were there, one businessman, stepping out of the new gate at the entrance of the center said, "I hate to leave."
Another was not so enthused.
Hayes Lou (
Too often, Taiwanese investors find themselves in the middle of political issues, he said.
"Both sides focus on small things and forget to look at the bigger picture," Lou said.
Whether it was repatriation or any other issue, Lou said both sides could be a little more flexible when it came to working through problems. Instead, both Taiwan and China are preoccupied with bitter wrangling, he said.
"Both sides are always trying to brainwash us," Lou said. "They just try to attack one another. I just don't get it."
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
STAY WARM: Sixty-three nontraumatic incidents of OHCA were reported on Feb. 1, the most for a single day this year, the National Fire Agency said A total of 415 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurred this month as of Saturday, data from the National Fire Agency showed as doctors advised people to stay warm amid cold weather, particularly people with cardiovascular disease. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a low temperature warning nationwide except for Penghu County, anticipating sustained lows of 10°C or a dip to below 6°C in Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as areas north of Yunlin County. The coldest temperature recorded in flat areas of Taiwan proper yesterday morning was 6.4°C in New Taipei City’s Shiding District (石碇). Sixty-three nontraumatic OHCA
COMMITTED: Lai said that Taiwan deeply appreciated the leaders’ statement, adding that the nation would remain steadfast in working to advance regional peace and prosperity US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement issued after they met in Washington for their first official meeting. Trump and Ishiba “affirmed their determination to pursue a new golden age for US-Japan relations that upholds a free and open Indo-Pacific and brings peace and prosperity to a violent and disorderly world,” the US-Japan Joint Leaders’ Statement said. “The two leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the