Dongshan set for military exercise
By Bao Daozu (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-07-13 00:46

Facing Taiwan across the Straits, Dongshan has also attracted a lot of Taiwan business people to invest in the island.

Dongshan has a total of 132 Taiwan invested enterprises, with a contractual value of US$14.53 million, said Yang Jianwen, the vice-director general with the Science and Technology Bureau of Dongshan County.

Taiwanese entrepreneurs bring with them not only improved varieties of grains and advanced processing technologies, but also advanced business concepts, access to their clients and a share of the Taiwan market, upgrading the island's agriculture and making Dongshan products better known around the world, said Yang.

Through exchanges and collaboration with Taiwan, Dongshan County has developed a number of successful industries including aquaculture, canned foods, quick-frozen vegetables and fruits and fishing gear manufacturing, and this in turn has promoted development of its tourism, trade and real-estate sectors.

Most Taiwanese business people do not think their businesses on the mainland will be affected by the upcoming military exercise.

An aquacultural businessman surnamed Xu said that he does not worry much about the exercise.

"It is too dangerous for Taiwan to announce independence," he said.

Another Taiwan businessman surnamed Chen, engaged in aquaculture product processing, complained that Taiwan authorities have made doing business with the mainland inconvenient for him, because of the absence of direct trade, communication and transportation links with the mainland. He said this limits Taiwan business people's investment in the mainland.

"I hope Chen Shui-bian will give up his independence idea soon," he said.