Taiwan’s top China policy maker, Andrew Hsia, says that Shanghai’s decision to give preferential treatment to Taiwanese investors does not signal a change in the status quo.
Shanghai’s People’s Congress recently passed a policy that grants Taiwanese citizens and investors in Shanghai similar treatment and rights to those of local residents. That gives them preference over other foreign residents.
Hsia, who is the minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council responded to the new policy on Tuesday, saying that it won’t change the cross-strait status quo.
“If Mainland China wants to do anything unilaterally, such as offering benefits to investors, especially to Taiwanese businesspeople, we have stressed over and over again that we of course would want to be notified in advance," said Hsia. "However, we also believe that regardless of [China’s] actions, there will be no change in cross-strait ties, we also stress that there has been no change to the reality that [the two sides] are ruled separately.”
Hsia also said that Shanghai’s decision to offer preferential treatment is to generate favorable opinion in Taiwan. He called on Taiwanese citizens to engage in cross-strait cultural and business exchanges freely, and not for any political purpose.