China says pro-independence Taiwan firms not welcome

ROC Central News Agency

2016/12/02 17:48:15

Beijing, Dec. 2 (CNA) Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Friday that his country continues to welcome investments from Taiwan companies but not those that support the idea of Taiwan independence.

Fielding questions from Taiwanese investors at a conference in Henan Province, Zhang said China has made it very clear that its policy toward Taiwan has not changed since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office on May 20.

China will continue to welcome investors from Taiwan but will not accommodate those that support the concept of independence for Taiwan, he said at the conference, which was attended by 230 representatives of Taiwan investor associations around China.

"China will not allow those Taiwan investors that advocate Taiwan independence to make money here," Zhang said.

He said that since the DPP came to power, Beijing has not changed its one-China policy, which holds that Taiwan is part of China, and has maintained the "1992 consensus" as the foundation of exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The deterioration in cross-strait ties has resulted from the DPP government's refusal to recognize the "1992 consensus," Zhang said, referring to a tacit agreement that was reached in 1992 between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait that there is only "one China," with each side free to interpret what that means.

According to Chinese media, a Taiwanese seafood restaurant chain Hai Pa Wang (海霸王) was recently fined in China for mislabeling items such as fish balls that are produced at its food factory in Chengdu.

However, there have been speculations in China media that the fines were imposed on Hai Pa Wang because its owners had good relations with Tsai's family.

In response to investors' questions at the conference, Zhang said that as far as he was aware, Hai Pa Wang had been fined for violations of China's food safety regulations.

The Taiwan Affairs Office, which is under China's State Council, is responsible for setting and implementing guidelines and policies involving Taiwan.

In Taiwan, Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正), deputy head of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said Thursday that Taipei was not pleased to hear about Beijing's discrimination against Taiwanese investors who hold different political views from the Chinese authorities.

The MAC, which handles Taiwan's relations with China, will consider what measures, if any, to take to deal with the situation, Chiu said.

(By Yin Chun-chieh and Frances Huang)
enditem/pc