Premier Jiang Yi-huah received National Union Chinese Medicine Association of ROC (NUCMA) Chairman Chu Fu-lin and his delegation of association members together with Legislator Huang Chao-shun at the Executive Yuan today.
The premier responded to the NUCMA's appeals and pledged to safeguard members' right to operate. Satisfied with the premier's answers, the NUCMA explicitly expressed its support for the government's cross-strait trade in services agreement.
While expressing concerns about the impact of the agreement on Taiwan's traditional Chinese medicine industry, Chu appealed for damage relief measures, preferential taxation, parity and reciprocity in import and export, and the prohibition of mainland investment in traditional Chinese medicine retail in Taiwan.
With respect to damage relief measures, the Department of Health (DOH) responded that it has already formulated revitalization and counseling measures spanning seven years in which NT$20 million (US$671,000) in subsidies will be disbursed each year to minimize the agreement's impact on Taiwanese Chinese-medicine businesses. As for preferential taxation for the industry, the premier directed related agencies to study and deliberate the issue.
The NUCMA advocated that based on the principles of parity and reciprocity, whether Chinese medicine exports are from the mainland to Taiwan or vice versa, consistent standards and methods should be applied in inspection, documentation and import and export procedures. The premier responded that the government has always upheld these principles and that its stance is consistent with the NUCMA's. He also reaffirmed that the government will not allow mainland involvement in the retail business and directed the DOH and Ministry of Economic Affairs to strictly monitor for and penalize any violations.