China’s economy is sluggish, and Taiwanese who start businesses in China under policies that Beijing alleges benefit Taiwanese would face risks, a researcher said yesterday.
China has been promoting its Fujian Province as a “cross-strait integrated development demonstration zone” since November last year, and has aimed to attract young Taiwanese investors through a number of allegedly beneficial economic and immigration policies.
Chen Binhua (陳斌華), a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, recently spoke about the policies, stating that China would implement policies that “offer equal treatment of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.”
PHOTO: AFP
This includes policies on study and research, employment and entrepreneurship, access to payment systems, medicine and social security, and grassroots governance, he said.
An article published in the Mainland Affairs Council’s monthly magazine cautioned Taiwanese who plan to start businesses in China to be aware of the cultural and legal differences of the country.
“Be familiar with China’s various laws and regulations, and never break the law or think, ‘I can do this in Taiwan, so it should be fine in China,’” the article said.
It also advised prospective entrepreneurs to avoid being overly optimistic.
“If you want to start a business, you must first understand the market and how to expand sales. You need good products and a certain amount of capital,” it said. “You need to find good employees or partners before you can operate a business.”
Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP) chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said yesterday that China’s policies for Taiwanese entrepreneurs had the dual purpose of pushing unification and poaching Taiwan’s capital, technology and industry talent.
Previous attempts by China with an integrated Taiwan-Fujian economic zone in Fujian’s Pingtan County failed, and the new policies are simply a repackaging of the old ones, with the addition of new immigration rules for Taiwanese, he said.
“China is appealing to the desire of most Taiwanese youth to be a business owner, but the spaces it is providing for this are abandoned properties, and China’s economy is sluggish,” he said.
“There are roughly 2 million Taiwanese aged 20 to 30 who are at risk of being lured to China under this scheme, and Taiwan’s government should implement policies to protect them,” he added.
Giving examples of risks Taiwanese could face under the scheme, Chen said that the Chinese government could steal successful business models and ideas, while those who fail would be forced to perform “united front” work in Taiwan on behalf of Beijing.
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