|
¡@
¡¥Ashen decade¡¦ awaits
Wednesday, May 26, 2010, Page 8
According to a recent report, Chinese customs in Shenzhen are to forbid terms
such as ¡§Taiwan,¡¨ ¡§Taiwan, ROC,¡¨ or ¡§Taipei, Taiwan¡¨ appearing on any documents
for Taiwanese exports. Instead, these goods can only enter into clearance
procedure with place of origin recorded as ¡§Taiwan, China.¡¨
Apparently, this practice has been in place since 2005, which should also come
as an embarrassment to the former Democratic Progressive Party government,
considering its justified but rather late concern with Taiwan¡¦s rapidly eroding
economic and political sovereignty.
Despite ¡§protests¡¨ from Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-Chung
(ªL¸t©¾), can we really expect the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government to
make a principled stand on this issue, given that it watches idly as illegal
Chinese products continue to flood the country ¡X including, recently, illegal
Chinese laborers, some of whom are apparently being employed in Taichung helping
to build the new offices of the Taichung City Council?
Both in principle and practice, it would appear that what¡¦s good for business
comes first and all other considerations are an afterthought. The
construction-boom theory of development (if in doubt, pour more concrete and
the economy will recover) stands as a great example of putting the needs of
developers first and the environment and citizens last.
Greenlighting more large-scale polluting factories and science parks in Yunlin,
Changhua and Taichung counties and undermining rigorous environmental impact
assessments speak volumes about the government¡¦s so-called ¡§green¡¨ policies, as
does the Taipei City Council¡¦s alleged involvement in the effective silencing of
Green Party Taiwan¡¦s recent bus ad campaign drawing attention to Formosa
Plastic¡¦s appalling record on carbon emissions and pollution.
It is clear that this government of slogans, intent on reaching the world
through China, has no stomach to fight for Taiwan or Taiwanese interests. It
would rather talk big and act small, lest it draw the ire of companies that have
a disproportionate influence on government policy.
The forthcoming Taiwan-China trade pact will not cure the economy nor bring
about a ¡§golden decade.¡¨ It will instead make it almost impossible for future
governments to implement any kind of protections for local businesses, its
citizens or the environment. Instead, an ¡§ashen decade¡¨ of tears and impotence
will have begun.
Ben Goren
Taichung
¡@
|
