Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) With over 70 percent of its outbound investment going to China and a stagnant economy, the government is doing more to encourage Taiwanese businessmen to "re-invest" in their homeland and vote in the March 22 presidential election.
President Chen Shui-bian, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen and Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) President Hung Chi-chang made the remarks at an annual Lunar New Year gathering Thursday for more than 500 Taiwanese businessmen operating in China, known locally as "taishang. "
Facing the challenges of China's new labor laws and stricter taxation, Taiwanese businessmen should start considering the deployment of "China plus one, " which means increasing investment to a new country. That country could be Vietnam or Taiwan, Hung said after describing the businessmen as Taiwan's "invisible national power and national pride."
He also urged China-based Taiwanese to vote in the presidential election and make Taiwan's democracy an example for China and the Chinese community. An estimated 1 million taishang and their dependents reside in China.
There will be more than 17 million eligible voters in the presidential election, so that the 1 million votes of taishang represent almost 6 percent of the electorate.
Taiwanese businessmen need to cope with the changing investment environment in China that is the result of a new labor law and new tax regulations, said Chen.
A China with cheap land, cheap labor, tax incentives and low standards of environmental protection -- the main reasons that has attracted Taiwanese businessmen to China since the late 1980's -- is in the past, he said.
This is why the government has created a project to attract investment back to Taiwan with incentives on land lease and taxation, he noted, adding that the government also encourages Taiwanese businesses to start the process of enterprise transformation and focus on high value-added products.
"Not all businesses are suitable for returning to Taiwan. We realize that. The MOEA will also do its best to help Taiwanese businesses invest in various other regions, including Central and South America, Central and Eastern Europe, India and Vietnam, " Steve Chen said.
To bring back the investment, the government has to first convince the presidents of the 102 Taiwanese businessmen associations in China, who are seen as highly influential among the taishang. A total of 82 incumbent or former presidents of the associations attended the annual meeting.