HONG KONG COURTS TAIWAN BUSINESSES, TRAVELERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 002002 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2033 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL HK TW CH SUBJECT: HONG KONG COURTS TAIWAN BUSINESSES, TRAVELERS Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL JOE DONOVAN for reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary and Comment: Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang announced several initiatives to strengthen relations and foster cooperation with Taiwan in his October 15 Policy Address. This year's speech marks the first time Taiwan has been mentioned in the Policy Address and is widely viewed to signal a new era in Hong Kong-Taiwan relations. Academics, the Taiwan business community in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong government officials agree the much-improved cross-Strait political landscape following Ma Ying-jeou's election as Taiwan President allows Hong Kong to pursue closer economic ties with Taiwan. Hong Kong's multi-pronged campaign -- opening its first semi-official office in Taiwan, supporting formation of a Hong Kong-Taiwan Business Cooperation Committee, convening an executive-level steering committee for Taiwan policy, and relaxing visit limitations for Taiwan travelers -- reflects a marked departure from Hong Kong's previous "arms-length" approach to Taiwan. Contacts caution these recent initiatives will likely be all that Hong Kong is willing to undertake for the foreseeable future. Hong Kong will continue to take its cue from Beijing on how much to lay out the welcome mat for Taiwan. End summary and comment. -------------- Promoting Hong Kong's Strengths -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In his annual Policy Address, delivered to the Legislative Council October 15, Chief Executive (CE) Donald Tsang revealed that the semi-official Trade Development Council (TDC),Hong Kong's international marketing arm, was in the final stages of preparation to open an office in Taipei. The TDC office will be the first even quasi-governmental Hong Kong entity to be represented in Taiwan. TDC plans to promote Hong Kong's world-class financial and legal services, logistics and real estate to Taiwan businesses who may not yet feel confident using Chinese or even Taiwan firms for these services. ¶3. (C) Taiwan Business Association (Hong Kong) chairwoman Susie Chiang told us her members saw Hong Kong's legal and judicial expertise as unrivaled in the region. She expects Taiwan businesses will continue to look to Hong Kong firms for arbitration and dispute resolution assistance. Hong Kong itself is cultivating this niche: The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre took part in a large-scale Hong Kong business delegation that met with Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, Mainland Affairs Council, and the Straits Exchange Foundation last week in Taipei. (Comment: The importance of the delegation is underscored by the fact that it was led by C.Y. Leung, a businessman who is also convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo),the Hong Kong government's inner cabinet, and someone who is often touted as a strong contender to be Hong Kong's next CE. End comment.) Returning from the three-day visit, Leung noted the Taiwan business sector gave positive recognition to Hong Kong's professional services, and he urged Hong Kong to keep a close watch for opportunities to provide service to Taiwan business. ¶4. (C) The Hong Kong government also hopes a Hong Kong-Taiwan Business Cooperation Committee can foster closer collaboration and facilitate direct communication between Hong Kong and Taiwan businesses. Tsang, promising government support, encouraged business leaders from both sides to form the committee. The Assistant Secretary in the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (CMAB) responsible for Hong Kong-Taiwan relations, Alex Chan, noted this committee will be the fourth of its kind (Hong Kong currently has joint committees with the United States, the European Union, and Japan). Chan expects the committee to begin work within a few months, and TDC will head its Secretariat. We do not yet know the make-up of the committee. -------------- Easier Travel, But Will it be Enough? -------------- ¶5. (C) Every year, Taiwan travelers make 2.2 million trips to Hong Kong, with 10-20 percent of the arrivals staying overnight in Hong Kong and spending an average of HK$5,000 (approximately US$645). To maintain this market amidst expanding direct cross-Strait flights, CE Tsang announced the Immigration Department will implement two new measures in January 2009 to provide greater convenience for frequent Taiwan business visitors and tourists to Hong Kong. First, Hong Kong will lift the limit of two iPermits (Internet-based visa applications) per 30 day period. Second, Hong Kong will HONG KONG 00002002 002 OF 002 extend the limit of stay for iPermit and multiple-entry permit holders from 14 days to 30 days. Comment: These more convenient procedures may be sufficient to appeal to some travelers to keep using the Taiwan-Hong Kong-China route even after direct flights from Taiwan to Mainland China are expanded beyond the current five Mainland cities serviced and no longer limited to weekends. To remain an attractive option for Taiwan residents traveling to China in the long term, however, Hong Kong will likely need to go a step further and match neighboring SAR Macau's visa-free arrangements for Taiwan travelers. End comment. -------------- Is this just the beginning? -------------- ¶6. (C) Most of our contacts agree the Hong Kong government's latest outreach to Taiwan are positive steps towards improving what have been strained, or at best "arms-length" relations, but they also caution not to expect too much from the Hong Kong government. They see Beijing and Taipei as the drivers of cross-Strait relations; Hong Kong has neither the expertise nor the inclination to play a policy role. Moreover, none of our contacts see Hong Kong using closer engagement with Taiwan to advocate for the "one country, two systems" model. Cheung Chi-kong, Executive Director of One Country, Two Systems, a well-connected research institute whose main customers are the Hong Kong government and local business community, claims Hong Kong civil servants lack knowledge of Taiwan because prior to 1997 they were banned from traveling there. With such a thin knowledge base, he asks, how could the Hong Kong government offer any useful input to Beijing on Taiwan issues? ¶7. (C) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Minister Lai Shin-yuan has publicly stated she hopes Hong Kong's latest outreach will pave the way for official high-level exchanges, official Hong Kong representative offices in Taiwan, and visa-free arrangements. CMAB's Chan implied in a recent conversation Lai's hopes are unlikely to be realized any time soon. Despite recently forming an inter-departmental steering committee headed by Financial Secretary John Tsang to coordinate Hong Kong's overall strategy and action plan for closer ties with Taiwan, CMAB's Chan cautioned the steering committee will need to "carefully consider all viable medium-term and long-term plans" for Hong Kong's relations with Taiwan after examining the impact of the recently launched initiatives. The Taiwan subject, he says, depends on the "overall cross-Strait situation." ExCo convener Leung stressed last week's delegation to Taiwan was meant to explore business opportunities, and he did not seek to establish an official dialogue between Hong Kong and Taiwan governments. It seems after implementing this latest multi-pronged outreach campaign, Hong Kong will once again hunker down and wait for the next cue from Beijing. DONOVAN