Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Deputy Chairman Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) yesterday said the foundation would ask China to consider giving Taiwanese businesses tax breaks to help them deal with financial difficulties resulting from the global economic downturn.
Kao said he hoped the Chinese government would consider alleviating the burden on Taiwanese investors by cutting taxes imposed on them.
“The entire global economy is in recession,” he said.
“There are different effects on each and every nation, but, mainland China is not as seriously affected as other nations,” he said.
HIGHER COSTS
Kao said that while he believed Taiwanese businesses should jump at the opportunity to invest in China, it was also true that investors there were facing difficulties.
“The implementation of the Labor Contract Law in mainland China has greatly increased the operational costs of Taiwan businesses in mainland China,” Kao said, referring to a law that raised the cost of labor by requiring employers to give their employees contracts and insurance.
The Labor Contract Law came into effect on Jan. 1 and stipulates that job contracts must be put in writing within one month of hiring an employee.
Employers must fully inform workers of the nature of the job, their working conditions and compensation. The law also limits employers from overrelying on temporary workers to keep personnel costs low.
Kao said that China’s land use law in cities and towns also placed a heavy burden on Taiwanese businesses and that the SEF hoped that Chinese government would consider allowing Taiwanese businesses to defer the payment of this tax.
“The SEF cares about the operations of Taiwanese businesses in mainland China,” Kao said. “We are using all possible means to understand the situation of Taiwanese businesses who operate businesses in mainland China.”
VISITING CHINA
Kao said he would visit Taiwanese businesspeople in Xiamen, Fujian Province, on Saturday and would attend an annual celebration of the city’s Taiwanese business association.
SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) will also visit Taiwanese business leaders in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces from Jan. 7 to Jan. 11, Kao said.
“Both Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and I will use our opportunities to visit Taiwanese businessmen to find out their needs and help them in any way we can,” he said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
RSS