Business group plea

Taiwan’s top business lobby asked Beijing and Taipei on Monday, April 20, to keep politics out of trade and tourism as China rolled out new incentives for the island. (usnews.com) The appeal came from the head of one of Taiwan’s biggest business groups, who said normal trade and travel links should resume without political conditions. China’s latest package included eased tourism curbs and steps to make food imports from Taiwan easier. (usnews.com) Beijing tied those measures to “opposing Taiwan independence,” turning what looked like an economic opening into a political test. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said on April 19 that it would address “reasonable demands” from industry but warned businesses not to become “tools manipulated and exploited” by Chinese communists. (yahoo.com) The dispute sits inside a broader cross-strait freeze that has hit flights, group tours and some trade channels over several years. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, while Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claim. (usnews.com) China’s new package, announced on April 12, listed 10 measures spanning travel, trade and culture. Reuters reported that they included exploring regular communication between China’s Communist Party and Taiwan’s Kuomintang, resuming more flights, allowing visitors from Shanghai and Fujian, and facilitating agricultural and seafood sales. (cnbc.com) The timing followed a Beijing visit by Kuomintang chair Cheng Li-wun, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 10. Chinese state media presented the trip and the incentives as part of a push for “peace and reconciliation” across the Taiwan Strait. (cnbc.com) Taiwan officials have answered that tourism and transport cannot be switched on and off according to Beijing’s politics. Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai said on April 16 that cross-strait travel policy has long fluctuated with political conditions and urged China not to politicize tourism. (taipeitimes.com) Business groups are pressing for something simpler: predictable rules for shipments, flights and visitors. Monday’s plea was a public attempt to separate everyday commerce from the sovereignty fight that neither side has moved to settle. (usnews.com)