CROSS-STRAIT ENTRY PERMITS - PROGRESS AND PROBLEMS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 004395 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/TC DEPT PASS AIT/W E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015 TAGS: ECON ELAB CH TW SUBJECT: CROSS-STRAIT ENTRY PERMITS - PROGRESS AND PROBLEMS REF: A. 04 TAIPEI 3605 ¶B. 04 TAIPEI 3839 ¶C. TAIPEI 2653 ¶D. TAIPEI 2869 Classified By: AIT Acting Director David J. Keegan, Reason 1.4 d Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (Amcham) has been taking concrete steps to work with Taiwan authorities to improve the system for approval of entry permits for Mainland employees of firms located in Taiwan. Taiwan's Council for Economic Planning and Development has taken the lead in responding for the Taiwan government in a methodical and attentive manner. U.S. firms report that there has been some progress, and processing times for entry-permit applications have become much shorter. However, these efforts are not sufficient to address many of the problems in Taiwan's labor market or to fully capitalize on Taiwan's potential to take advantage of the PRC's wealth in human capital. End summary. Amcham Priority -------------- ¶2. (U) Late last year Taiwan announced a package of reforms that loosened restrictions on the ability of firms in Taiwan to bring Mainland employees to Taiwan for short-term stays (ref B). Many in the business communities viewed these changes as inadequate. In its 2005 White Paper, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (Amcham) made various personnel issues, including entry permits for Mainland employees, its primary focus. (ref C) Taking Concrete Steps -------------- ¶3. (U) Since releasing the White Paper, Amcham has taken some concrete steps toward resolving this problem. On August 12, Amcham's Human Resources Committee sponsored a breakfast meeting with a speaker from Taiwan's Investment Commission (IC). The IC plays a coordinating role in processing entry-permit applications from businesses in Taiwan. Attendance at the event was high, with more than 60 Amcham members participating. Attendees were given ample opportunity to raise questions. Questions focused primarily on the length of time needed to get approval, which many blamed on the number of agencies involved in the process. ¶4. (C) In order to provide a more practical basis for discussion with the Taiwan government on this issue, Amcham ran a test case for the application process. Amcham President Tom Johnson oversaw the test. His firm, San Fu Gas Co., which is 74 percent owned by U.S. firm Air Products and Chemicals Inc., submitted applications for three Mainland Air Products employees to come to Taiwan for a short visit. Amcham closely tracked the process to see where difficulties might emerge and whether the Taiwan government can approve the permits within the projected two weeks. Amcham has informed the Council of Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) about this experiment. CEPD generally coordinates Taiwan government responses to the concerns of the business communities on issues like this one that involve multiple Taiwan agencies. Taiwan government agencies were able to approve the entry permits in just three and a half working days. Johnson told AIT/T that Amcham might run another test case without informing CEPD ahead of time. ¶5. (C) These two steps are important because they have helped focus the dialogue between Amcham and the Taiwan government. Too often in the past, Amcham and other business organizations have only offered nonspecific complaints about the excessively complicated application process and long delays in getting the entry-permits approved. In response, CEPD has promised that the process should only take 10 working days without providing enough evidence that this was true most of the time. CEPD Responding -------------- ¶6. (U) There are indications that the Taiwan government is taking these complaints from the business community more seriously and is attempting to respond. The package of reforms announced late last year was a significant step. CEPD has been working with other Taiwan agencies to make sure that all of the offices that have a role in entry-permit approval are aware of the relaxed requirements and streamlined procedures aimed at speeding up the process. It has repeatedly expressed interest in learning from the business community where problems occur in the process. ¶7. (C) CEPD has also worked methodically to coordinate Taiwan government responses to the whole range of human resources-related concerns highlighted by Amcham in its 2005 White Paper. CEPD Center for Economic Deregulation and Innovation Executive Director Heng Tso gave AIT/T a spreadsheet detailing CEPD's efforts. The lengthy document identifies every specific recommendation made by Amcham and summarizes the responses of every Taiwan government agency involved. The document shows that not every issue will be resolved quickly but does list many concrete steps toward addressing these problems. Signs of Progress -------------- ¶8. (C) In addition to the quick approval of the San Fu Gas Co. applications, other U.S. firms in Taiwan have reported that the reform efforts have been at least partly successful in making it easier and faster to bring Mainland employees to Taiwan. IBM Taiwan Government Programs Executive Robert Wang told AIT/T in early October that while the entry-permit approval process could previously take about three months, now the total time required was down to about three weeks. He also noted that IBM was no longer subject to previous restrictions on the number of entry permits for Mainland employees that it could obtain in a year. Similarly, Ford Lio Ho Motor Co. Employee Services Manager Y.M. Yen reported to AIT/T that the total processing time for his firm was down from about two months to three to four weeks. Procter & Gamble has brought PRC managers to Taiwan on four separate occasions. The head of P&G's legal department Michael Mou told AIT/T that on each occasion the processing time has been shorter than the last. Most recently, the entry permits were approved by Taiwan authorities within two weeks. Comment - More Fundamental Change Needed, but Unlikely -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) Amcham and CEPD have developed a constructive approach for addressing some of Amcham's specific human resources-related recommendations. For Mainland entry permits, they have had some success in improving the system. However, Taiwan still faces major challenges in maintaining a labor supply that encourages investment on the island. Many firms have commented that Taiwan must relax rules on employment of foreign labor if it wishes to attract investment, especially in manufacturing. In addition, Taiwan continues to face shortages of skilled workers for high-tech industries (ref D). Relaxation of the basic restrictions on employment of Mainland personnel may be the only effective way to resolve these problems. Further streamlining the application procedures and additional steps to marginally expand eligibility for these entry permits will not be enough. ¶10. (C) UBS Asia Pacific Economics Head Jonathan Anderson recently told an Amcham group that he would be pessimistic about Taiwan's economic prospects "until you hear more Mainland Chinese voices on the streets of Taipei." Taiwan's geographic and cultural proximity to the PRC are its greatest advantages in today's global economy. Until it can use those strengths to more effectively take advantage of the PRC's wealth in human capital, it will be unable to realize its full economic potential. ¶11. (C) Nevertheless, more fundamental reform in this area will not occur until there is a political consensus in Taiwan to advance the pace of cross-Strait economic liberalization. In CEPD's spreadsheet summary of responses to specific Amcham recommendations, the shortest reply is to Amcham's suggestion that Taiwan should encourage businesses to recruit technical talent from the PRC. The Mainland Affairs Council was the only agency to respond. Its relatively terse but revealing answer ends with "any additional moves for further opening on this front will depend on the overall cross-Strait situation." End comment. KEEGAN