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.
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