|
Beijing ‘requests’
political donations for friendly ‘parties’
MEDDLING: A Taiwanese businessperson said
Beijing is ‘asking’ China-based investors to donate to those ‘that would help
develop the cross-strait economy’
By Peng Hsien-chun / Staff Reporter
With the combined legislative and presidential elections in January and their
outcome a key factor in the development of cross-strait issues, China has been
moving to influence the outcome, a Taiwan Merchant Association (TMA) member said
last week.
The TMA member said China mobilized its contacts within the association in the
middle of last month and the beginning of this month, hoping to persuade
Taiwanese businesspeople to return to Taiwan and make “political donations” in
“support of a party that would help develop the cross-strait economy.”
The invitations were presented as informal get-togethers, but for all intents
and purposes they were more like an order to mobilize election support, said a
TMA member who requested not to be identified.
“It told us they ‘hoped’ we could ‘take action’ and participate in elections
that will have a direct impact on cross-strait developments,” the member said.
“It said such support on our part would not only be helping the Chinese
authorities, but Taiwanese merchants as well.”
Fully aware of the Chinese government’s stance with the request, Taiwanese
businesspeople have delegated the job of keeping close watch on the newest
developments in the election campaign to measure how much “political donations”
would be required.
However, some companies have received not-so-subtle hints of how much they
should donate and the timeframe of donation “would be best around the end of
October to the beginning of November,” the TMA member said.
The businessman said although he had already made preparations for political
donations, being given a limit and “requested to [make a donation]” made him
very uncomfortable, adding that the sum asked of him would be the income of
several days work, meaning he would be working for several days without getting
anything.
The member said all members of the TMA or similar associations always had a
limit for the amount of political donations, adding that the person chairing the
TMA in the local province would be asked to donate more.
The member also said that the association and other similar organizations were
one step down from the Members of the Association of Taiwan Investment
Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM), whose members were expected to make more
“donations” than non-ATIEM investors.
A Taiwanese investor who requested anonymity said in the past he would return to
Taiwan and make political donations, adding that “I’m a member of the party;
donating to the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] is the right thing to do.”
However, the investor declined to say whether he had received the “request” from
Chinese authorities.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
|
