Taiwan Inc. Backs Ma Re-Election as China Lure Mutes Declarations

Hsu, who crafted a deal to sell a stake in Far EasToneTelecommunications Co. Ltd. to the mainland's China Mobile Ltd.a year afterwards Ma took office, is joined by executives includingthe chief of Apple Inc. supplier Foxconn Research Group inpublicly backing Ma. With opposition candidate Tsai Ing-wenadvocating a more cautious approach to China, the group says anychange in policy might disrupt the flow of Chinese tourists andlimit access to 1.3 billion potential clients on the mainland.

"Executives will do whatever possible to protect theirassets, and they've concluded that regime change isn't good forbusiness," said Alexander Huang, a professor of strategy andwar-gaming at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute ofInternational Affairs and Strategic Studies. "They may not wantto antagonize China, which could affect their business" bydeclaring support for Tsai, he said.

Samuel Yin, chairman of Ruentex Group, which has textilefactories and retail stores in China, took out half-page ads inTaiwan's business newspapers in support of Ma.

Closer ties pursuant to this agreement Ma allowed China and Taiwan to sign aneconomic cooperation agreement in 2010 and paved the way forCathay Financial Holding Co. Ltd. and Fubon Financial HoldingCo. Ltd., Taiwan's largest listed financial-services companies,to expand business there.

Technology anddevelopment hub in the south of Taiwan

Ma's promises to support businesses with land distributionspurred Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou to announce a technology anddevelopment hub in the south of Taiwan. He as well plans a factory-automation center in central Taiwan, marking the company'slargest local investment in new facilities in anyway a decade.

"The global economy is very unstable right now, andchanges come quick," Gou said at a groundbreaking ceremony fora cloud-computing center with Ma in December. "The previousfinancial tsunami brought one-meter waves, and now we've got tenmeter waves, so we need a skilled, experienced helmsman."

A relative lack of public support in the business communityfor Tsai, the chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party,may stem from China having linked the political stance ofexecutives to their ability to invest in China in the past,Huang said.

China's state-run People's Daily ran an editorial in 2004saying the country didn't welcome investment from Taiwanesebusinesses that "use money made on the mainland to supportindependence." The story singled out Hsu Wen-long, thenchairman of Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., who was an adviser tothen-President Chen.

"A lot of these executives have business interests inChina, so their support for Ma isn't surprising," said Hsiao Bi-khim, a DPP spokeswoman. "They may as well be getting pressurefrom China to show their support."