PRC Taiwan Affairs Office Chief Urges Taiwanese Businessmen to Return to Taiwan to Vote in Local Elections

Global Taiwan Brief - Vol. 3, Issue 22 (Nov. 14, 2018)

Against the backdrop of increasing evidence that China is interfering in Taiwan’s political process, a senior Chinese official is encouraging Taiwanese businessmen in China to go back to Taiwan to vote in the island’s upcoming local elections. While participating in a symposium organized by The Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM, 大陸全國台企聯), the director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), Liu Jieyi (劉結一), reportedly said that “this idea is very well said.” As another sign that Beijing is ramping up its influence operations against Taiwan, at the symposium attended by many ATIEM executives and Chinese officials held in Hunan province on October 29, the TAO director highlighted how Beijing is looking out for Taiwanese business interests amidst the US-China trade war. “Taiwanese businessmen and Taiwan compatriots must have confidence. The mainland [sic] has a very large market. Taiwan-funded enterprises can rely on the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) policy to continue business development on the mainland [sic],” Liu reportedly said.

The TAO—which is in charge of implementing Beijing’s Taiwan policy—has kept a low profile before the upcoming local election, which will be held in less than two weeks on November 24. Yet, the annual forum, which is typically held during the lunar new year, was moved up to before the local elections ostensibly on purpose. ATIEM’s President Wang Pingsheng (王屏生), 18 executive vice presidents, 15 district presidents, and heads of 150 local Taiwan business associations attended the forum. Additionally, the directors and relevant responsible persons of the Taiwan Affairs Offices from 39 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) and deputy provincial cities also attended.

Founded in 2007, ATIEM is a business association consisting of around 300 Taiwanese-funded enterprises and their members in China. The organization acts as a lobby group for Taiwanese businesses both in China and in Taiwan. According to a 2012 investigative report by Reuters, ATIEM previously tried unsuccessfully to lobby the Taiwan government to overturn a rule that bars citizens of Taiwan from taking positions in state or party bodies in China.

Describing the current cross-Strait situation as very serious and highlighting the importance of Taiwan’s upcoming local election, ATIEM President Wang stated that: “Not only will I go back [to Taiwan] to vote, but I call on millions of Taiwanese businessmen to go back to vote.” Li Zhenghong (李政宏), president of the Shanghai ATIEM, pointed out that the Taiwan government should help Taiwanese businesses take advantage of the huge opportunities presented by the Chinese market. “This time, every Taiwanese businessmen-friend around me has already bought a ticket and are going back [to vote],” said Ding Yuhua (丁鯤華), the honorary president of ATIEM. Ding added that Taiwanese businessmen have been awakened and will no longer be silent. Voting in the election is not only a matter of letting their voice be heard but to exert influence. “[The number of people] going back to vote will be much more than in 2016,” Ding said.

While voter turnout in Taiwan’s general election is relatively high, they are lower for local elections—so high voter turnout could have an impact. With an estimated one million Taiwanese working and living in China, a quarter million of Taiwanese residents in China reportedly voted in the country’s 2012 presidential election. In 2016, an estimated 100,000 Taiwanese businessmen voted. To encourage more voters to go back to vote, 12 airlines from Taiwan and China such as Air China, China Southern Airlines, Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Chunqiu, and Jixiang are reportedly offering discounts as much as 25 percent off for people traveling from China to Taiwan during the elections. For instance, a roundtrip ticket for Shanghai-Taipei was priced only at NT$5,000 (US$ 162.40).

At another business forum held also in late October in Nanning, around 100 Taiwanese entrepreneurs attended the 14th Guangxi-Taiwan Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum to explore the investment environment in the Guangxi autonomous region. According to Wang, ATIEM’s president, Taiwanese businesses see Guangxi as a springboard to access the markets of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. One of the attendees from Taiwan, Chan Huo-sheng (詹火生), chairman of the Cross-Strait Common Market Foundation (兩岸共同市場基金會), said that strengthening industrial cooperation between Taiwan and Guangxi could help Taiwanese businessmen more fully participate in China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative.

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