|
Policies on imports not effective:
business heads
BY LOA IOK-SIN
STAFF REPORTER, WITH STAFF WRITER
Thursday, Sep 16, 2010, Page 1
Despite a government promise to protect domestic industries
against the dumping of cheap Chinese products, business leaders yesterday
accused the government of lacking effective policies to block illegally imported
merchandise from China and to protect local industries.
“Although many bedding products from China are banned from being imported into
Taiwan, shipment after shipment are smuggled in, and most can be found in
supermarkets,” Taiwan Bedding alliance chairman Huang Kuang-yi (黃光藝) told a
press conference at the legislature. “The government opened the door, but no one
is guarding it.”
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Pan Meng-an (潘孟安), who accompanied the
business leaders at the press conference, said that when the government signed
the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China in June,
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) promised to protect traditional industries, which
are often in a disadvantaged position.
The ECFA came into force earlier this month.
“However, when we look at the budget for the next fiscal year, the central
government’s budget on protecting disadvantaged industries for 2011 is 27
percent lower [than this year],” Pan said. “The government under the leadership
of Ma is incapable of blocking the dumping of Chinese merchandise, nor can it
actually protect Taiwanese businesses. I wonder if it is trying to help or kill
traditional industries.”
Taiwan Ceramic Industries Association consultant Yu Teh-er (游德二) and textile
industry operator Hung Kuo-kai (洪國凱) recounted how some businesses were able to
import Chinese merchandise without being caught.
“A lot of wholesalers purchase clothing items from China, but since they can’t
import clothes from China directly, they register their business in Hong Kong or
Macau, and import these Chinese-made clothing items from Hong Kong and Macau,”
Yu said. “When shipments of such clothing items come into Taiwan, the tags are
altered, but no one is checking them.”
Yu, meanwhile, said ceramic tiles made in China are first shipped to Indonesia
and then “imported” into Taiwan.
“Indonesia doesn’t make ceramic tiles, so how can the government check these
products if the budgets are cut?” Yu asked.
The previous day, angry bedding makers staged a protest against what they
claimed was the government’s failure to stem a tide of illegally imported
Chinese-made bedding, which they said was flooding the local market.
Leading the protest outside the Directorate-General of Customs (DGC) in Taipei,
Huang asked how Chinese products, which are banned from Taiwan, could be on sale
everywhere unless government officials were turning a blind eye.
The protesters proceeded to the Control Yuan to demand an investigation into
whether the DGC and the Bureau of Foreign Trade had broken the law by failing to
stem the illegal imports.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝), who joined the
protests, said that before signing the ECFA, the Mainland Affairs Council and
other government departments had promised to protect traditional industries,
with the council giving assurances that it would “guard the gate closely.”
By allowing banned Chinese goods to flood the market, the government was failing
to enforce the law, he said, adding that this was tantamount to tolerance for
breaking it, and such a government was not fit to remain in office.
|
