臺灣擬向大陸開放半導體行業投資

The Taiwanese government is seeking to lift a ban on Chinese investment in its crucial semiconductor design industry, in what is a highly controversial move just two months before an election that could bring to power an opposition party sceptical of closer ties with Beijing.

臺灣政府正尋求解除對中國大陸投資其至關重要的半導體設計行業的禁令。距離大選僅有兩個月之際，這是一個極具爭議的舉動，對兩岸建立更緊密關係持懷疑態度的反對黨有望在此次大選中上臺。

John Deng, Taiwan’s minister for economic affairs, said that in the face of fierce competition from China, the self-governing island had no choice but to open its doors further to Chinese companies in order to support the semiconductor industry.

臺灣經濟部部長鄧振中(John Deng)稱，面對來自中國大陸的激烈競爭，自治的臺灣別無選擇，只能進一步向大陸企業敞開大門，以支撐其半導體行業。

“We certainly understand that the market is not only in Taiwan, it’s everywhere, including in China,” said Mr Deng. “So a proper relaxation of this policy may now be needed.”

“我們當然明白，市場不僅在臺灣，到處都是，包括大陸，”鄧振中說，“因此，適當放鬆這一政策現在可能是必要的。”

He said that Taiwan was struggling to compete with China’s ambitious industrial development plans at an already difficult time, with its economy shrinking for the first time in six years during the third quarter.

他說，在本已困難的時期（臺灣經濟第三季度出現六年來的首次萎縮），臺灣難以與大陸雄心勃勃的產業發展規劃競爭。

The minister said that the proposed reform would need to be “carefully managed” to protect Taiwanese jobs and technology but that it wasnecessary to allow more Chinese investment or risk that the industrywould lose relevance.

鄧振中表示，擬議中的改革需要得到“謹慎管理”，以保護臺灣的就業和技術，但允許更多大陸投資是必要的，否則臺灣的半導體行業將面臨被邊緣化的風險。