Expert: CCP’s “Anti-Separation 22 Measures” Prompt Taiwanese Businesses to Speed up Withdrawal.

Recently, the Chinese Communist authorities issued 22 new regulations, claiming that so-called “Taiwan independence” activists could be tried in absentia, with the most severe punishment being death penalty. They have also set up a hotline for reporting. This move is forcing Taiwanese workers in mainland China to leave, and Taiwanese businesses are expediting their evacuation from the mainland. Experts say that Taiwanese businesses are being treated unfairly, and the only solution is to leave China. It’s not only Taiwanese businesses that are being scared off by the Chinese Communist Party.

Although the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese Communist Party claims that these measures are only aimed at a small number of radical individuals and that there is no need for Taiwanese people to be afraid, indications show that shortly after the Chinese authorities introduced the “Anti-Taiwan Independence 22 Regulations,” which carry the highest penalties of death or life imprisonment, Taiwanese business people in China have started making preparations to leave the country early.

According to a report from the BBC News on August 16, the Chinese Communist Party’s rhetoric on Taiwan issues is becoming increasingly extreme and dangerous, condemning “stubborn” Taiwan separatists, establishing a reporting hotline, and stating that the top leaders of these separatist movements could be sentenced to death. Many Taiwanese people in China have already begun planning or have left the country. Some interviewed Taiwanese business people specifically mentioned concerns about the environment of mutual reporting among citizens in China.

Citing the views of Morris Chang, the founder of TSMC, the report points out that the new laws will have a reverse effect, further intensifying Taiwanese people’s distrust and resistance towards the Chinese Communist regime. Chang was one of the first Taiwanese investors to establish state-of-the-art chip manufacturing plants in China, but the turmoil in Hong Kong made him change his mind.

After the Chinese Supreme Court, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of State Security issued the “22 Opinions” targeting so-called anti-Taiwan independence activities on June 21, the Taiwanese government raised its travel advisories for the mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau to “orange” to signify avoiding non-essential travel starting from June 27.

On July 4, Reuters quoted four informants as saying that following the announcement of Beijing’s new measures, some Taiwanese working in China and multinational corporations began evaluating and discussing the risks for Taiwanese employees working in China and accepting the option to leave the country. Some Taiwanese employees in China have already received and accepted the choice to leave.

Gao Weibang, Chairman of the Taiwan Victims of Investment in China Association, told Epoch Times that if Taiwanese business people are seen as supporting Taiwan independence, they could be sentenced to death, which is a crazy move. Currently, the fear of the Chinese Communist Party exceeds any previous era. But “intensifying threats to Taiwanese businessmen only serves one purpose, which is to make them flee China.”

Gao stated that Taiwanese business people are being treated unfairly in mainland China, and in the end, they all have to go to the Taiwan Affairs Office to file complaints. He has handled hundreds of cases, and none of them were fairly resolved.

He also mentioned that about 10 years ago, Wang Xiaobing, the Vice Secretary-General of the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), called to suggest changing the name of their association from the Taiwan Victims of Investment in China Association to the Taiwan Business Rights Promotion Association, considering the current name was not appealing. Gao said that if Wang could handle even just one case out of the many he provided, he would make the change, but it was fruitless in the end. “It’s easy to see that any Taiwanese business people facing unfair treatment in China have not found justice. The only way to ensure safety is to leave, to flee China.”

Taiwanese businessman Li Mengju went missing after entering Shenzhen from Hong Kong in August 2019 and was later sentenced by the mainland on charges of espionage, which he denied. He was only released in July last year. In April 2023, Fucha, the chief editor of Taiwan’s Bachi Culture, went missing in Shanghai and was later confirmed to have been arrested by the Chinese Communist Party on charges of “endangering national security,” and he is still in detention.

On August 13 this year, the Chinese Ministry of State Security announced that it had cracked over a thousand cases of Taiwanese espionage for stealing secrets but did not provide details. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council responded, stating that “if not for exaggerating achievements, it’s yet another public declaration. The Chinese Ministry of State Security abuses authority under vague and unclear laws to wrongfully detain those who advocate for democracy and freedom in Taiwan as ‘spies.'”

Yan Jianfa, former professor in the Department of Business Management at Taiwan’s Jen-Shung University of Science and Technology and Director of the International Cooperation Office, expressed to Epoch Times that China’s policy towards Taiwan has always been both hard and soft. He believes that now, official deeds are stressing security, and lower-level security officials are claiming to have caught over a thousand Taiwanese spies to win praise.

He thinks that currently, Taiwanese businessmen and Taiwanese people cannot leave China in the short term, and officials can use extortion, threats, and intimidation. However, this tactic will be detrimental to China’s long-term development, scaring off not only Taiwanese businessmen but also other foreigners. “Those who could leave have already done so. Now, there is a significant increase in investment in Southeast Asia, and some Taiwanese are still there, living in fear.”

Yan believes that the Taiwanese government finds it challenging to help Taiwanese businessmen as there are currently few political channels between both sides to communicate. The best the government can do is to wish Taiwanese businessmen good fortune and consider risks while making money there.

Chen Shimin, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University, told Epoch Times that the Chinese Communist Party’s actions will only lead to dwindling cross-strait exchanges. In recent years, many cases of individuals being arrested as spies have emerged, such as Li Mingzhe, a human rights volunteer who was immediately detained upon entering mainland China. Crucially, the judicial procedures of the Chinese Communist Party are extremely absurd. “This is a key reason why public support for reunification in Taiwan is decreasing.”

He pointed out that with the Anti-Taiwan Independence 22 Regulations, even in absentia, the most severe punishment could result in death. It is believed that Taiwanese businessmen all want to quickly escape from China, and the business environment in China has significantly deteriorated as entrepreneurs compete by reporting each other and engage in unethical practices.

After the US-China trade war, there has been a global phenomenon of supply chain deconstruction and reconstruction, with global investors and foreign businesses quietly moving their operations away from China. Particularly following the pandemic, the operating environment in mainland China has continuously worsened, leading Taiwanese businesses to shift towards the Southeast Asian market.

In a post on its official Facebook page on February 17 this year, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Commission shared a data chart from the Taiwan Investment Review Committee of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, stating that the effectiveness of Taiwanese businesses diversifying globally to mitigate risks is significant. The amount of investment going to China has declined steadily from 83.8% in 2010 to 11.4% in 2023, hitting a historic low.

Several organizations, including Taiwan Public Policy and Taiwanese think tanks, recently held a seminar together. Hong Pujiao, Director of the Comprehensive Department of the Straits Exchange Foundation, pointed out that it is widely believed that China’s economic development is showing a long-term decline under the US-China confrontation. In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has actively sought money through various means like tax collection, price increases, fines, pay cuts, defaulting debts, creating significant impacts on enterprises and livelihoods. Taiwanese, foreign, and even Chinese companies have been forced to move their operations abroad. Therefore, the government actively guides the flow of funds back to Taiwan or encourages investment in other countries.

Shen Youzhong, Deputy Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, and professor of the Department of Political Science at Tunghai University, said that facing the risks and uncertainties of Chinese politics and economy through the Anti-Espionage Law and the Anti-Taiwan Independence 22 Regulations, Taiwanese business people should consider early planning for overseas layouts or returning home.

President of the Republic of China, Lai Ching-te, expressed during a meeting with the “World Taiwanese Business Association Joint Council’s 30th Return Visit and Investment Delegation” on July 18 that about 1,500 investment cases have been reviewed under the three investment plans for Taiwan, with a total amount of NT$2.3 trillion, demonstrating the capability of Taiwanese businessmen in nation-building.