Liang Guoyang, head of the Taiwan delegation to the Second Session of the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC), said the proposals that they will submit this year mainly focus on promoting economic, trade and personnel exchanges across the Taiwan Straits so as to reduce the impact of the financial crisis on Taiwanese enterprises on the Chinese mainland.
Liang said that the proposals prepared by 13 Taiwanese deputies include resolving the financing difficulties small and medium-sized Taiwanese enterprises are facing, helping Taiwanese enterprises transform and upgrade, putting more efforts in travel management for people traveling from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, re-enforcing the promotion of legal knowledge and assistance for Taiwanese business people, expanding education for Taiwanese young people, and enhancing protection on cultural relics in Taiwan.
Citing examples, he said some deputies proposed that during the adjustment of industrial structure, the government should help enterprises that are temporarily incapable of carrying out transformation, maintain production and guarantee employment. They suggest that the government help Taiwanese enterprises turn their focus from exports to domestic sales, grant a fixed amount of subsidies to the Taiwanese enterprises whose labor-intensiveness exceeds a certain level, and help Taiwanese business people deal with the current financial crisis.
In addition to the crisis, the employment of Taiwan compatriots’ children on the Chinese mainland is also of concern for the NPC deputies. He said, “Some Taiwan compatriots’ children who want to develop on the Chinese mainland still have difficulty in scientific research, and some of the specific policies are yet to be fully implemented. Therefore, to deal with this, we will intensify research and investigations, and make suggestions.”
“These 13 NPC deputies not only represent the interests of the 40,000 Taiwan compatriots who have settled on the Chinese mainland, but through various means including surveys and visits, they also listen to voices of those who live in Taiwan and abroad in order to strengthen cross-strait contacts. Additionally, they give suggestions on Taiwan policies and carry out policies in a bid to fully maintain the interests of Taiwan compatriots living on both sides of the Strait,” Liang said.