Spat in Hong Kong-Taiwan threatens twisted business

The standoff between Hong Kong and Taiwan will end this year as escalating political tensions threaten the unity of a key trade and trade union.

The number of staff at the Taiwan office in Hong Kong has dropped over the past two years as the department has stopped issuing visas, documents for those who are about to expire at the end of November.

Hong Kong abruptly suspended operations in Taipei two weeks ago, ending its stay. The suspension has grown so much that Taipei has begun making plans to resolve problems without representatives in Hong Kong, two Taiwanese officials have said.

The deterioration of relations follows the military standoff between Taiwan and China and the Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong that has led some of the perpetrators to do so. find security in Taipei.

China claims Taiwan as its share and has done so threatened to enter if the island does not submit to its sovereignty forever.

The researchers said cutting off government routes would undermine Hong Kong culture as a means of trade and economic exchanges between Taiwan and China. Although there was a dispute with Beijing over the issue of sovereignty, Taiwanese companies are among the most foreign investorsEmployers and exporters in China.

Most of the Taiwan Strait trade routes pass through Hong Kong, and most Taiwanese people in China also use Hong Kong for economic, tax and legal purposes. Last year, Taiwan was Hong Kong’s second largest exporter, while Hong Kong was the fifth largest in Taiwan, with HK $ 504bn (US $ 65bn) in both countries. business. Taiwanese companies was laid to rest US $ 912m in Hong Kong by 2020, while Hong Kong-based companies invested US $ 555m in Taiwan.

“Hong Kong has been a starting point for Taiwanese companies to China and has always been China’s first [companies] to Taiwan, “said Liu Meng-chun, chief research officer at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, a government official in Taiwan.

Tensions between Hong Kong and Taipei escalated two years ago when the region began asking Taiwan’s ambassadors to sign documents stating that their country was part of China as a visa requirement.

After Taipei’s refusal, the number of staff in his Hong Kong office began to dwindle, from 20 to eight today, according to the Mainland Affairs Council, China’s prime minister.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong, it is said to be closing its office in Taipei because “recent actions in Taiwan have damaged Hong Kong-Taiwan relations”.

A Hong Kong government official said the suspension came as a result of an order from Beijing.

“I think Beijing has that idea [Taiwan’s representative office] it also affects national security, “said Sung Yun-wing, a professor of economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who is also a member of the working group, Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Study, in Beijing.

“There have been reports that Taiwan has been promoting protests in Hong Kong, which have been violent, which is why the protests are not only against the Hong Kong government but also Beijing,” Sung said. He added that China was also concerned that Taiwan was “hiding” protesters from Hong Kong.

While Taipei has always been careful not to look like which makes it much easier for the dissidents in Hong Kong Fleeing to Taiwan, local government agencies have provided a demonstration team with technology, funding and events. “This is something that we cannot tolerate because he has not done anything illegal,” said a Chinese lawmaker.

At the time of its writing, Hong Kong’s most important economic sector in the Taiwan-China trade has served as a hub for Taiwanese companies and airlines to supply their factories to southern China with its equipment.

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While experts say this will continue even after the alliance between Taiwan and Hong Kong is severed, they have clearly seen how it could affect economic activities, tourism and education.

“Hong Kong plays a vital role in improving the economy of the Taiwanese people,” said Patrick Chen, Taiwan’s chief research officer at CLSA, a business management company.

He also said that most Taiwanese people have accounts in Hong Kong, where Taiwanese banking groups provide them with foreign exchange funds that are not available under the island’s strict rules.

Liu of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research said many Taiwanese businesses keep profits from their jobs in China and their Hong Kong counterparts on taxes.

“These things can be very complicated without representing the government because you have to start sending documents over and over again to identify yourself,” Liu said.