Although there are not yet statistics about the impact of China’s 31 measures aimed at attracting Taiwanese professionals and businesses, they still pose a national security risk, the Mainland Affairs Council said in a report yesterday.
Using “equal treatment” and other offers, China’s measures are aimed at enticing Taiwanese to give up their right to “be their own masters,” the report said.
Taiwanese would lose their democracy, freedom and human rights, the report said, calling the 31 measures a “huge challenge” to Taiwan’s national security.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Taiwanese invested US$5.221 billion in China from January to July, a 2.77 percent decrease from the same period last year, the report said, citing statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Investment Commission.
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics data showed that 407,000 Taiwanese worked in China in 2016, 13,000 less than in 2015, the report said.
Due to this year’s decline in Taiwanese investments in China, the number of Taiwanese working in China might also continue to decrease, it said.
Since the announcement of the 31 measures, no professors from Taiwan’s public universities or top private universities have taken up teaching positions in China, while the number of private-school teachers and university graduates who have gone to teach in China has been about the same as before, the report said, citing information from the Ministry of Education.
Of the 37,149 students who studied abroad last year, 2,567 — about 6.9 percent — studied in China, the report said.
From January to last month, 108 doctors who said they planned to practice medicine in China applied for a certificate of good standing from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the report said.
That number was less than half that of last year’s or the 204 who applied in 2016, the report said.
While Beijing is making offers to Taiwanese willing to work in China, at the same time it is ramping up its suppression of Taiwan on the world stage, the report said.
Beijing uses credit score reporting systems and other methods to restrict freedom of speech and business operations, which pose risks for Taiwanese, the report said.
Taiwanese need to be aware of the risks associated with China’s offers, the council said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
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