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The Libery Times
Editorial: Chinese inroads spell disaster
In public, the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) has said there
will be no talk of unification, independence, nor military action, yet it is
actively pursuing a policy of eventual unification with China. It is doing so
using a two-pronged approach: one being political unification; the other,
economic unification.
The administration is clearly in cahoots with Beijing in achieving economic
convergence first, followed by political convergence, hoping businesses will
force the political issue.
Their method is first to marginalize Taiwan, engineering a periphery-core
relationship of dependence. From there, to make Taiwan a ˇ§special zoneˇ¨
politically, extinguishing Taiwanˇ¦s sovereignty and demoting Taiwan to a mere
local administrative unit, with Beijing as the center.
Following the signing of the services trade pact between Beijing and Taipei, and
the drive to establish representative offices in each otherˇ¦s territories,
crucial steps have been taken in laying of both the economic and political
foundations.
In the five years since Ma took office, he has performed very poorly, which is
reflected in consistently falling popularity ratings and most peopleˇ¦s view that
he is an incompetent leader.
Yet he has shown startling commitment and progress in achieving eventual
unification, in spite of the publicˇ¦s objections.
In fact, because objectors have tried to block his way, he has instead withdrawn
and taken to engaging the enemy in closed-door negotiations, signing himself and
his country little by little, step by step, into indenture.
The speed of progress in laying these foundations has been the most startling of
all.
In a few years, the government has forced through one policy after the other,
from the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) to the services trade
agreement. The Taiwanese economy is moving from one in which its exports are
over-reliant on China to one in which China is also impacting its domestic
market.
As things are now, more than 900,000 small and medium-sized entreprises (SME)
and over 5 million jobseekers would be affected. Taiwanˇ¦s economy is at risk of
total collapse and the nation would be easy kill for China, with the conditions
for political unification ripe.
In trying to push his eventual unification agenda through, Ma has been brash and
overbearing. Before the ECFA was signed, public opinion was overwhelmingly
against it, yet Ma ploughed on regardless, using the KMT majority to force it
through.
The results have been what those who had objected to it had feared all along:
Not only did the promised, significant benefits fail to materialize, but worse
still, Taiwanese industries were weakened as a result.
Yet, before signing the services trade agreement, the Ma administration
neglected to conduct a full impact assessment, nor did it consult with industry
or carry out policymaking in a transparent way. Instead, it acted like a
despotic ruler.
The government has conceded the deregulation of Taiwanese services relating to
all aspects of life ˇX from the cradle to the grave ˇX with absolutely no
safeguards in place.
It has claimed this deregulation is mutually beneficial, but Taiwan has a
population of 23 million, compared with Chinaˇ¦s 1.3 billion. The difference in
the sizes of the respective economies is huge. Yes, Taiwanese businesses are
already relocating to China en masse, but the numbers involved mean that they
will scarcely dent the jobs market in China or threaten the survival of Chinese
companies. However, if Chinese flood through our battlements, Taiwanese SMEs
will soon become engulfed, finding it very difficult to survive.
The sectors that have been deregulated are the very ones that are struggling,
the SMEs. China has the advantage in human resources, and as soon as Chinese
companies are allowed to operate in Taiwan, our own local low-capital,
labor-intensive businesses ˇX hair salons, breakfast cafes, launderettes and
cleaners ˇX will find it very difficult to compete and stay afloat.
Furthermore, an investment of US$300,000 entitles a Chinese companyˇ¦s proprietor
and two managerial personnel to relocate to Taiwan. For every additional
investment of US$500,000, an extra staffer is permitted, up to a maximum of
seven. The problem is, once the Taiwanese side has officially confirmed the size
of the initial investment, the Chinese investors are free to take it back,
making the investment clause an open door for Chinese immigration.
In other words, once the service trade agreement has been signed, Chinese
personnel, products and services will be able to make substantial inroads into
Taiwan, which will be disastrous for our economy.
Despite this, the sections of the media that Ma has in his back pocket are
singing a chorus of consent, attacking dissenters for so-called provincialism
and ideological intransigence. They are browbeating the public by saying that if
they oppose exchanges with China, it will only lead to Taiwanˇ¦s further
marginalization and that dire economic consequences for the foreseeable future
will eventuate as a result of failing to ride the tail of the Chinese dragon.
In fact, the opposite is true. Taiwanese companies have been relocating to China
and investing as much as US$200 billion, making us over-reliant on the China
market. The problem is more how Taiwan can extricate itself from this reliance.
Stagnant or falling salaries and persistent rising unemployment are a direct
consequence of this reliance.
Some commentators are saying that since China has deregulated more industries
than Taiwan, we are the true beneficiaries of this pact. However, Chinaˇ¦s
deregulation does not mean there are no obstacles to Taiwanese companies: There
will still be layer upon layer of domestic laws, serving as invisible barriers
to entry and preventing Taiwanese companies from enjoying promised benefits.
In addition, there are a number of Taiwanese SMEs that the government should
protect from external competition. They will not be able to compete with Chinaˇ¦s
nationalized companies, which care more about increasing their market share than
they do about profits.
Taiwanˇ¦s survival depends on two things: our democracy and our economy.
In his pursuit of eventual unification, Ma is intent on destroying both. This is
why he has pushed for this services trade agreement and the establishment of
representative offices on either side of the Taiwan Strait.
Both are major steps in laying the foundations for economic and political
unification, with eventual unification as the ultimate goal.
If that day comes, Taiwanese will be in real trouble. They will rue the day they
allowed it to happen.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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