The Economic Democracy Union yesterday urged the government to establish regulatory control measures for Shopee capital to deter Chinese economic influence in Taiwan.
Civic groups are calling for Shopee to commission licensed electronic payment services to handle all transactions on its platform, as the current situation is unfair to certified services and the platform lacks consumer guarantees, Economic Democracy Union researcher Hsu Kuan-tze (許冠澤) said.
The Investment Commission’s performance cannot compete with the US Committee on Foreign Investment, which plays a critical role in overseeing US national and economic security, union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Despite the success of the 2014 Sunflower movement in blocking a controversial cross-strait service trade agreement, Chinese investors are still able to enter Taiwan, piggy-backing on Hong Kong or foreign investments, and undermine Taiwan’s economic autonomy, he said.
Lai attributed the persistent Chinese presence in Taiwan’s economy to incomplete legal protections, citing the Legislative Yuan’s unwillingness to amend 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) and the Financial Supervisory Commission’s inaction regarding the amendment of investment laws.
The Investment Commission is full of people who used to work under Tsai Lian-sheng (蔡練生) and Fan Liang-tung (范良棟), both of whom serve as deputy secretaries-general on the Cross-strait CEO Summit, which is an important part of China’s economic “united front” rhetoric, Lai said.
The Executive Yuan should issue an executive order banning Investment Commission members from being in contact with Tsai or Fan, effective immediately, he said.
Taiwan Citizen Front member Lo Yi (羅宜) said that Shopee’s expansion is an attempt to monopolize all electronic commerce, payments and logistics for basic necessities.
The moment Shopee began establishing physical stores and moving from the Cloud was the day that Chinese investment successfully “breached” Taiwan, she said.
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