Taiwan Today has all the news that's fit to make you have apoplexy:Top officials from both the Office of the President and the Executive Yuan intend to reinstate projects to set up special economic zones on the island, sources familiar with the issue revealed.[Special economic zones? If you remember the huha over the airport free trade zone, part of it was because they floated a trial balloon for importing Chinese labor -- MT]It's funny to read this and look back at my post on the Taiwan SAR in 2017, and compare it to Hai Tien's excellent response, which I posted at the bottom.
The special economic zones are being deliberated because officials expect a new economic situation to develop following the expected signing of the economic cooperative framework agreement between Taipei and Beijing in June, sources pointed out.["new economic situation" = impaired sovereignty, Chinese dominance over Taiwan's economic policy - MT]
Relevant agencies are in the process of mapping out supporting measures, including infrastructure development, tax credits, special incentives and more flexible policies governing international labor. The Cabinet is expected to unveil these policies within one month, sources said.["more flexible policies on international labor." is this a euphemism for Chinese labor? Or just lower wage rates for the current indentured servant class? -- MT]
They pointed out that during the first stage special demonstration zones will be established at the country’s four major ports, as well as at the free trade zone adjacent to the Taoyuan Aerotroplis and at the nation’s export processing zones.
Pending further needs, such operations can be strategically established throughout the island and ultimately all of Taiwan could be turned into a special economic zone. Future ECFA negotiations can also be conducted on a zone-to-zone basis, they noted.[Ultimately all of Taiwan will be a zone! Future ECFA relations will be on a zone-to-zone basis! But I thought ECFA wasn't going to impair Taiwan's sovereignty? Zone to zone? Not even region to region? Actually, the reduction of Taiwan to a zone is a sort of overt recognition of its reversion to colonial status vis a vis China -- MT]
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4 comments:
You should not get so excited over a badly translated and edited pile of slop that is 99.9 percent untrue.
ANON said, "You should not get so excited over a badly translated and edited pile of slop that is 99.9 percent untrue."
Purely observational and anecdotal - since I get around Taiwan a lot for business I have noticed a rather sharp increase in the number of people speaking in mainland accents (not tourists).
I was chatting with a restaurant owner in Taitung a few months ago when a woman walked in. I thought she was a customer, but the laobanya ignored her and then whispered to me, "Mainland filth. We get them here all the time looking for work."
As I said, purely anecdotal...
But in my little neighborhood in Taipei County, we have noticed an increase of foreign-mainlanders who appear to have moved into the area.
I have no evidence of this - but it wouldn't surprise me if the KMT has been quietly opening the floodgates from China to establish a quiet invasion.
I once went to a restaurant in Lukang and the owner joked that the guy bussing tables and I should stick together as we were both "Lao Wai".
He was an illegal from China.
OMG, you mean Chinese people might actually come to Taiwan to study or work, just like Taiwanese go to China or the USA - that has to be stopped...(Michael, I know you did not say that, but from some of the comments...)
Well, personally, I rather liked the change of pace when there was a young person on the assembly line (Chinese bride) rather than the usual geriatric Taiwanese. (no clue if their work was better.)
I doubt the KMT has opened any floodgates - the fact is people move around now. I also wonder if more Taiwanese are using a mainland accent from more interaction with Chinese- I know my wife can turn it on somehow when dealing with mainlanders...
Then again, supposedly the British Labor party wanted to allow more immigration to get votes and there are accusations that the Democrats in the USA support immigration amnesty for this reason as well. Maybe the KMT is doing it, too. The DPP needs to get the southeast Asian maids to balance it all out. They already have the Canadians.
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