Business Taiwan

Some useful addresses, phone numbers and publications for doing business in Taiwan: OFFICIAL FOREIGN OFFICES The Coordination Council can answer questions about visa requirements and offer advice on business and trade issues. Coordination Council for North American Affairs 4201 Wisconsin Ave. N.W. Washington , D.C. 20016 (202) 895-1800 The local office of the Coordination Council can assist with common questions; other questions may be referred to the Washington office.

Taiwan's industrial juggernaut, derailed a week ago by a killer earthquake, started putting itself back on track as survivors began the seven-week process of mourning more than 2,000 dead. Powerful aftershocks continued to roil the jumbled landscape, but search-and-rescue work was winding down as hope of finding survivors faded. The stock market reopened for the first time with a widely expected loss, and production was ramping up quickly in the lucrative microchip industry.

Chen Chien-nan, the dapper president of a textile company, represents a historic shift in relations between his native Taiwan and its longtime archenemy, the People's Republic of China. Four years ago, the 53-year-old Taiwanese industrialist spent $50 million and moved his business from Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, to Fuzhou on the Chinese mainland.

TAIPEI, Taiwan When NATO bombs hit the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade last month and derailed the mainland's effort to join the World Trade Organization, one of the unintended victims of the fallout was Chen Yi-si. Chen, a Taiwanese shopkeeper, fears that his government's decades-long effort to join the WTO--thought to be near realization--will now be stymied because Taiwan is unlikely to be admitted until after mainland China, Taiwan's longtime political rival, gets into the organization.

Taiwan, although it has limited official diplomatic relations, is one of the busiest trade and manufacturing centers in East Asia. The island's location--near Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines and mainland China--and the fact that it has one of the busiest airports in Asia make it easily accessible to business travelers. Getting There Both a passport and a visa are required to visit Taiwan.

Rock music blaring from the F-ONE clothing store gave the balmy evening a festive air, but the man out front on a low red stool was working hard. Standing on his precarious perch, the barker gestured at swarms of passing shoppers, alternately shouting, blasting on a silver whistle and gyrating in dance to the beat of "Surfin' USA." He seemed almost to be enjoying himself. But it looked like a tough job, and probably one that didn't pay very well. A college student with a part-time job?

Relaxed Restrictions on China Imports Expected: Taiwan will relax import restrictions on semi-finished goods from China by early 1992 to prevent the nation being harmed by any trade friction between Washington and Beijing, officials said last week. The Economic Ministry had announced in September that it would allow selected imports from China to enter via third countries, but it was now speeding up the liberalization, the officials said.

A Taiwanese steel manufacturer has officially opened a trading business here as part of a larger effort by the Asian nation to help even out its huge trade imbalance with the United States. Alton Industries Inc., a subsidiary of Taipei-based Yieh Loong Group, will be the largest Taiwanese enterprise to settle in Orange County, said officials at the Coordination Council for North American Affairs, Taiwan's quasi-official government representative in the United States.

A series of multimillion-dollar scandals is sweeping Taiwan's financial world as the government cracks down on speculation and fraud by some of the island's wealthiest businessmen. Authorities have charged one of the stock market's biggest players with tax evasion, indicted a textile tycoon for document forgery and raided dozens of finance companies during operations against illegal trading in recent months.

If war were to break out in the Taiwan Strait, where Chinese forces on Tuesday began live-fire military exercises, a likely early casualty would be the rapidly expanding business and trade relationship between Taiwan and the mainland. And that is precisely why many Taiwanese business people operating in China doubt that a serious military conflict will take place. In business terms, they say, both sides have much to lose.

If war were to break out in the Taiwan Strait, where Chinese forces on Tuesday began live-fire military exercises, a likely early casualty would be the rapidly expanding business and trade relationship between Taiwan and the mainland. And that is precisely why many Taiwanese business people operating in China doubt that a serious military conflict will take place. In business terms, they say, both sides have much to lose.

Chen Chien-nan, the dapper president of a textile company, represents a historic shift in relations between his native Taiwan and its longtime archenemy, the People's Republic of China. Four years ago, the 53-year-old Taiwanese industrialist spent $50 million and moved his business from Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, to Fuzhou on the Chinese mainland.

Firms Expect to Raise More Than $1 Billion This Quarter: Executives and analysts said Taiwan companies expect to raise that amount in international capital markets through bond and stock sales. They include industrial blue chip Formosa Plastics Corp., which plans to raise $350 million in a bond sale, and electronics group Yageo Corp., which launched a stock issue nearly two weeks ago.

Some useful addresses, phone numbers and publications for doing business in Taiwan: OFFICIAL FOREIGN OFFICES The Coordination Council can answer questions about visa requirements and offer advice on business and trade issues. Coordination Council for North American Affairs 4201 Wisconsin Ave. N.W. Washington , D.C. 20016 (202) 895-1800 The local office of the Coordination Council can assist with common questions; other questions may be referred to the Washington office.

Taiwan, although it has limited official diplomatic relations, is one of the busiest trade and manufacturing centers in East Asia. The island's location--near Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines and mainland China--and the fact that it has one of the busiest airports in Asia make it easily accessible to business travelers. Getting There Both a passport and a visa are required to visit Taiwan.

Taiwan, isolated diplomatically since 1971, when the United Nations accepted the mainland government as China's legitimate representative, has nonetheless developed one of the strongest economies in the Asia-Pacific region. U.S. companies will find Taiwanese executives easily adaptable, but they should be aware of strong Chinese cultural influences on the way business is conducted. DO: * Work with Taiwanese partners on joint venture deals. It helps to cut through cultural barriers.

TAIPEI, Taiwan When NATO bombs hit the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade last month and derailed the mainland's effort to join the World Trade Organization, one of the unintended victims of the fallout was Chen Yi-si. Chen, a Taiwanese shopkeeper, fears that his government's decades-long effort to join the WTO--thought to be near realization--will now be stymied because Taiwan is unlikely to be admitted until after mainland China, Taiwan's longtime political rival, gets into the organization.

Vice Foreign Minister Chen Hsi-fan was 15 years old when he fled advancing Communist armies on the Chinese mainland to seek refuge here. For 44 years since then, the Nationalist Party has ruled Taiwan, and the Communist Party has ruled the mainland. The British govern Hong Kong, which reverts to Beijing's control in 1997, and the Portuguese rule Macao, which returns to Chinese sovereignty in 1999.

Hsu Ke-wei doesn't look like much of a threat to society. A slim 25-year-old wearing a rust sweater and matching pants, Hsu is a soft-spoken college graduate, only three months out of the army. Yet today, like every day, he is breaking the law, illegally selling skirts and jackets from a downtown Taipei sidewalk.