A longstanding debate on Taiwan's immigration
policies has resurfaced following a speech by Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister
Tharman Shanmugaratnam in which he cited Taiwan as a cautionary tale to
highlight the importance of attracting foreign talent.
Taking
up the issue, Taiwanese business leaders, academics and journalists have blamed
bureaucratic red tape for the island's inability to attract foreign talent.
They called for changes to redress this as well as stem the outflow of local
talent.
Tharman
had warned at a university forum in Singapore last Thursday that one of the
factors behind what he called the 'Taiwan story' was that Taiwan had been
keeping foreign talent at bay even as its best and brightest were leaving for
better prospects in other countries.
His
comments immediately created ripples here. Stan Shih, the founder of computer
giant Acer, and hotelier Stanley Yen reacted by publicly calling for a more
relaxed immigration policy.
Shih
told reporters on the sidelines of a digital technology show last Friday that
Taiwan's development would be restricted if it lacked foreign talent.
"Foreign
talent could make up only 1 per cent of the population of Taiwan, but the value
they create could be 100, even 1,000 times," he said.
He
urged the authorities to adopt a 'new framework' to tackle the problem.
Only
about 3 per cent of the some 810,000 foreigners on the island of 23 million
people are white-collar workers, many of them Japanese executives and English
teachers from the United States and Britain.
The
island used to enjoy heady average annual growth of more than 9 per cent
between the 1950s and 1980s, low unemployment and steadily rising wages.
However,
wages have not budged for the past decade even as inflation chips away at
purchasing power. Per capita income in Taiwan at US$21,592 trails those of
Singapore (US$50,714), South Korea (US$23,749) and Hong Kong (US$34,393). From
being the kingpin of the four Asian Tigers, Taiwan's economy is now bottom of
the pack.
In a
commentary published in the mass-circulation United Daily News, Yen said that
"even Singapore has pinpointed our problem, yet we remain oblivious to it,
that is our biggest problem".
Yen is
only partially right. Observers have said that the problem has not gone
unnoticed by the government. What has been lacking is a solution, they say.
Dr Yang
Chia-yan, a research director at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research,
said Taiwan remains 'institutionally' unfriendly to foreigners. Numerous rules,
from educational and salary requirements to lengthy paperwork, deter employers
from hiring foreigners.
Expatriate
spouses find it extremely hard to find jobs. There are also few choices of
international schools for children of expatriates.
"Academics
have long agreed that the government should relax the immigration policy to
attract more knowledge-based white-collar workers," said Dr Yang.
On
Sunday, the English daily newspaper Taipei Times, noting that Tharman's criticism was not new, asked:
"Will Taiwan ignore this wake-up call, just like it has so many
others?"
Premier
Sean Chen had said last Friday in Taiwan's Parliament that Tharman was an
internationally renowned financial expert and that his comments would help spur
a government review of the immigration policy.
He
added: "We are aware that Taiwan has a brain drain problem... it's worth
reflecting on the Singapore Deputy Prime Minister's comments. I will ask the
relevant departments to take note of them in our efforts to train, retain and
groom talent."
Lee
Seok Hwai
The
Straits Times
Business & Investment Opportunities
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