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China gives pro-DPP businessmen special treatment(China Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Taiwan business and industry leaders with close ties to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) received unusual treatment at the meeting between Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Honorary Chairman Lien Chan and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing. A total of 115 delegates from Taiwan attended the second Lien-Hu meeting compared with 10 from Chinese side. This was the second meeting between Lien and Hu after they held a historic meeting in Beijing last year. Top Taiwan business and industry leaders, whose enterprises account for close to 50 percent of Taiwan's annual gross domestic product (GDP) were invited to the gathering. The seating chart was arranged by the Taiwan Affairs Office under Beijing's State Council (Cabinet). Entrepreneurs maintaining close relationships with the pro-independence DPP were arranged to take up more prominent positions among the top 40 seats for Taiwan delegates. Business and industry leaders from Taiwan normally did not have the chance of meeting senior Beijing officials. But the just concluded the two-day forum on cross-strait economic and business cooperation provided a rare opportunity for them to enhance or cultivate personal ties with Beijing officials. Although regarded as holding political inclinations toward the DPP, the entrepreneurs in the "pan-green" alliance led by the DPP voluntarily joined the forum on their own initiative. Despite sharp criticism from DPP leaders and government officials, the pro-DPP entrepreneurs knew that they could not afford to ignore the investment and marketing opportunities on the Chinese mainland and the impact of the Lien-Hu meeting. Some business and industry leaders said they have to personally take the trip and participate in the cross-strait cooperation conference after the DPP government prohibited the holding of the conference in Taiwan. Jeffrey Koo was the only entrepreneur taking up a front-row seat with Lien, Lien's wife, four KMT vice chairmen, New Party leader Yok Mu-min, Hsu Li-teh (a former vice premier who previously served as minister of finance and economic affairs), and KMT Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng. Koo, chairman of Chinatrust Financial Holding, was seated at the first row also mainly because he is a member of the KMT's policy-making Standing Central Committee. Hu was flanked by nine Chinese delegates, including Vice Premier Wu Yi, Chen Yunlin, director of the Chinese Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office, and other senior officials. Among other Taiwan entrepreneurs seated right behind Lien, Hong Hai Group leader Terry Guo was given the first spot, followed by leaders of the Ruentex Group, the Walsin Lihwa Group, the Yulon Group, Taiwan Cement, and Fubon Financial. Several other pro-DPP entrepreneurs were given spots in the first 40 seats, a sign that Beijing embraces Taiwan people who make pragmatic moves to back economic and trade cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. |