China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced that it will launch a trade barrier investigation on Taiwan, while Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominated party chairman Lai Ching-teh (William Lai) as their 2024 presidential candidate. But independent observers have pointed out that the probe is politically motivated and that China’s ruling communist party (CCP) intends to interfere in the 2024 Taiwan election.
The Ministry of Commerce announced on April 12 that it will conduct investigations on trade barriers imposed by Taiwan on 2,455 Chinese products, ranging from agricultural products, textiles, coal, minerals, metals, plastics, rubber, chemicals, to construction materials. It said that the investigation will last for a maximum of nine months and is expected to end by Jan. 12, 2024 at the latest. Taiwan’s presidential election will happen on Jan. 13, 2024.
Taiwanese Government’s Response
In response, Minister of Economics of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Wang Mei-hua replied on April 13 that, considering the timing of the announcement and China’s military exercises against Taiwan, the investigations are clearly politically motivated.
Luo Bing-cheng, acting spokesman of Taiwan’s Executive Yuan (the executive branch) said at a press conference after a meeting on April 13 that the CCP shouldn’t interfere with cross-Strait regional trade, nor should it excessively instrumentalize, complicate, and politicize normal trade, which will not help exchanges between both sides of the Strait.
Crates of pineapples being sorted at a warehouse in Taiwan’s Pingtung county on March 16, 2021. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)
The Agricultural Commission of the Executive Yuan issued a press release on April 13 regarding China’s investigation, stating that it will cooperate with the Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and other ministries and commissions to take relevant countermeasures to protect farmers’ incomes.
The Mainland Affairs Council also stated that relevant government agencies will continue to pay close attention to how the situation develops, and provide the necessary assistance to business owners in the crosshairs.
CCP’s Political Operation Through Trade
Taiwanese businessman Liao Jinzhang told The Epoch Times that the investigation by China’s Ministry of Commerce on Taiwan’s trade barriers is a political operation to force Taiwan to buy Chinese products.
“The size of Taiwan’s economy is small, so there must be trade barriers to protect its farmers, which is similar to Japan’s heavy protection of their agricultural products. China’s market and economic volume are huge, and Taiwan has no way to adopt a countermeasure to the mainland,” he said. “Once Taiwan opens up the import of cheap Chinese products, the entire related industries in Taiwan will collapse. However, China being open to Taiwan’s agricultural products is unlikely to affect China’s agriculture.”
Liao added that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is likely targeting the DPPs campaign for next year’s general election through trade. But as a result, the Chinese action will make Taiwanese businessmen alert that they should not be overly dependent on the CCP for growth, and could lead to increased decoupling from the Chinese economy.
Visitors look at a screen at the Taiwan stall during the inaugural day of the 3-day Smart Asia 2018 Expo and Summit at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre in Bangalore on Oct. 4, 2018. (IndiaandTaiwanare(Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images)
He pointed out that, “If Taiwan’s products in these industries are not exported to China, they can expand to other markets in the world, and there is still a way to survive, which is not a bad thing.”
Gao Wei-bang, chairman of the Taiwanese Victims of Investment in China Association, told The Epoch Times that Xi wants to take Taiwan and will not give up even if the use of force is required. He said the investigation is the CCP adding to its psychological war against Taiwan.
“The DPP announced on April 12 that Nominate Lai will be its candidate for the 2024 presidential election. On the same day, China announced it will conduct an investigation into Taiwan’s trade barriers, and the investigation can be extended to Jan. 12, 2024, which is the day before the voting day for the presidential election of the Republic of China next year,” Gao said.
“The CCP’s military and economic pressure on Taiwan is politically motivated, attempting to interfere in the 2024 elections of the Republic of China.”
The Taiwanese people should recognize the nature of the CCP and unite as one; not to be divided, he said. They should refuse to be unified under the CCP’s rule.
Zhong Yuan and Lin Cenxin contributed to this report.
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