Several Taiwan business leaders on Monday urged the island’s government to consider Beijing’s new plan for boosting cross-strait exchanges, arguing it could ease pressure on struggling sectors.
In response, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party accused industry groups of helping mainland China “use business to pressure politics”.
“There is no pressure from Beijing. None of us received calls from Beijing,” said Hsu Shu-po, chairman of the Taipei-based General Chamber of Commerce.
“On the contrary, we did receive calls from [Taiwan’s] government.”
Hsu did not elaborate, but said the authorities should not obstruct business associations from expressing their views in a democratic society.
Beijing released its 10-point policy plan on April 12, two days after Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang, met with Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The measures cover tourism, flights, agricultural and fishery products, food exports and support for small businesses.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council – the government agency that charts cross-strait policy – said many similar measures were introduced and suspended over the past two decades, creating uncertainty and causing losses for the island’s businesses and farmers. It said the government had a duty to prevent industry from being exposed to political risks.
The council also said Beijing had in recent days exerted pressure on Taiwan’s businesses by demanding they publicly support the package. It urged trade associations not to become tools for pressuring the government.
The government’s Tourism Administration echoed that view, urging companies to resist pressure and avoid being drawn into politics.
But Hsu rejected these accusations as “groundless nonsense”, saying business groups existed to represent the interests of industries rather than confront the government.
“What should be opened should be opened, what should be relaxed should be relaxed,” Hsu said. He added that adding more direct flights would immediately reduce travellers’ costs and inconvenience.
Representatives from the tourism and hospitality sectors said they had been hit hard by a post-pandemic slowdown and the freeze in cross-strait travel. Restrictions have gradually been placed on cross-strait travel since 2019.
Hsiao Ching-tien, chairman of the Taiwan Tourist Hotel Association, said eased restrictions on mainland tourism could boost hotel occupancy and consumer spending. “The government should not ignore these measures and disappoint the public,” he said.
Wu Ying-liang, head of the Taipei-based Travel Agent Association, said Taiwan’s more than 4,000 travel agencies needed every viable market. “We need visitors not only from Europe, the US, Japan and Southeast Asia. Every market matters,” he said.
Agricultural exporters also welcomed the possibility of improved market access, while calling for stable quarantine rules rather than politically driven stop-start arrangements.
The KMT seized on the row to accuse the DPP of putting ideology ahead of the economy.
Former KMT vice-chair Lien Sheng-wen said any policy that could generate more income for Taiwanese businesses should be welcomed. He added that trade groups do not need to be pressured to advocate for their industry.
The KMT also issued a statement, calling on the DPP administration to cast aside its ideological constraints and put forward concrete measures that would benefit the public and local businesses.
The DPP, however, warned against becoming dependent on the mainland market.
Fan Yun, the party’s legislative caucus secretary general, said Taiwan had always been open to trade and tourism, but any opening must be reciprocal and should not allow mainland China to use economic tools for political purposes.
“Taiwan should engage with the world and no longer rely on a one-China market,” she said.
DPP lawmaker Wang Ting-yu described the package as “sugar-coated poison”, arguing it offered “limited real benefits to Taiwan”.
Analysts said Beijing’s package was aimed as much at Taiwan’s internal politics as its economy.
Niu Tse-hsun, a professor at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei, said the measures were clearly targeted at undecided voters and agricultural counties, many of which are traditional DPP strongholds.
“If the government responds too rigidly, it could alienate swing voters,” he said.
He suggested Taipei might be better served by selectively accepting some of the proposals or imposing their own conditions rather than rejecting the plan outright.
Kuo Yu-jen, a professor at National Sun Yat-sen University in the southern city of Kaohsiung, said the policy package’s timing aligned with Beijing’s broader goal of promoting cross-strait integration under its latest five-year plan, which runs from this year until 2030.
“China is trying to help the Kuomintang in elections,” Kuo said.
Still, he said the real economic impact of the package might be limited, as mainland China was no longer the dominant market it once was for many sectors.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China and has never renounced the use of force to reunite it with the mainland. Most countries do not recognise self-governed Taiwan as an independent state. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island and is committed to supplying it with weapons.