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Promotion of Taiwan
to US needs rethinking
By James Wang 王景弘
Former vice president Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), whose idea of a “single Chinese
market” is much to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) liking, led a Taiwanese
business delegation to the US last month. In a speech he made at a seminar in
Washington, Siew replayed an old and highly unconvincing tune, saying that US
businesses could gain access to the Chinese market by way of Taiwan, using the
nation as a “springboard.”
Siew’s “springboard” theory is unlikely to be met with anything but derision. If
the investment climate is really that good, why do businesses keep moving to
China? If Taiwanese entrepreneurs can go straight to China, what is to stop US
businesses doing the same thing? Why would they want to go there by way of
Taiwan?
Maybe Siew’s “springboard” theory is about the convenience that a shared
language offers to Taiwanese entrepreneurs in China, and the “special
relationship” that exists between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait — things
that he thinks might be helpful to US companies seeking a foothold in China.
However, speaking the same language has only lulled Taiwanese investors in China
into being passive partners, rather than being a real advantage. There are a lot
of people in China whose command of English is much better than what Taiwanese
businesspeople can muster, and US companies have employees who speak better
Beijing-style Mandarin than Taiwanese businesspeople do.
And the “special relationship” has lulled Taiwanese investors in China into a
state in which they are incapable of running a business except by pulling
strings. Any privileges they may gain through bribery and playing along with
China’s united-front strategy are limited and fragile.
US businesses have more sophisticated ways than their Taiwanese counterparts of
currying favor with the rich and powerful in China. There are as many people in
China as there are fish in the sea who have the ear of those at the top and are
willing to pimp for US companies. A lot of high-up Chinese officials have
children who study in the US, where companies recruit them on generous salaries
because of their parents’ status. These “princelings” can help their employers
by knocking on all the right doors in China, so why would US companies bother
with Taiwanese businesspeople’s third-rate connections?
That was not the only unrealistic thing about Siew’s speech. The Chinese
business environment is not what it used to be. Rising production costs and
bureaucratic corruption are persuading many US businesses to pull out of China
and return home, and US President Barack Obama’s administration is encouraging
that trend.
Japanese businesses were the first overseas investors to enter the Chinese
market, but the “go West” vogue that lasted for more than two decades has turned
southward these days. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation publishes
annual surveys on Japanese manufacturers’ overseas investment intentions for the
next three years. China, which had been the No. 1 investment destination for 20
years in a row, has dropped to fourth place in this year’s survey with only 24.8
percent of planned overseas investment. India, Indonesia and Thailand take the
top three places and ASEAN countries account for nine of the top 20 investment
targets.
The “go South” policy that former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) advocated never
really got off the ground. Instead, it is now Japan that is doing what he
suggested. While the Japanese government and businesses have woken up, the Ma
government still dreams about Taiwan being a “springboard.” It is thanks to
useless leaders like these that the nation is going to rack and ruin.
James Wang is a political commentator.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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