MAC announces new controls on PRC relations

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 23, 2006. it reports that according to the Mainland Affairs Countil, the government in Taiwan will introduce measures to reduce Taiwan's economic reliance on China. A series of new rules will be announced to regulate Taiwanese investment in China and to crack down on smuggling.

The Mainland Affairs Council has been working with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Council of Agriculture and the Financial Supervisory Commission in order to draft the new regulations.

To prepare for a wider opening to visitors from China in the future, the government will double the deposit required from tour operators who handle Chinese visitors, to NT$2 million. Specifically, for each Chinese tourist who leaves a tour group or overseas his or her visit, the government will deduct NT$200,000 from the deposit. Tour operators can lose their licenses if such problems occur too often or escalate.

Meanwhile, the government has also raised the reward for reported cases of smuggled animals and plants and related products, from NT$1.8 million to NT$3.6 million.

In order to reduce Taiwan's economic reliance on China, the Council of Agriculture plans to expand the nation's exports to other markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, the United States, the European Union, Korea, and Countries in Southeast Asia. The council will also reinforce its protection of Taiwan's agricultural technology and intellectual property rights.

The government in Taiwan will maintain limits on Taiwanese investors in China. Taiwanese people who are applying to invest in China will need to work closely with the Ministry of Economic Affairs. For investments over a certain amount or with the potential to impact heavily on local industrial development, the applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants of these cases will be required to commit to aspects such as financial planning, technological transfer, and equipment export.

More details will be finalized and announced before the end of June 2006, when the new regulations will take effect.