TAIWAN further relaxed controls Tuesday on high-tech investment in the mainland by local firms, allowing makers of flat-panel television screens to export their most advanced technology to the mainland.
The move by the island s economic ministry is another sign of the fast warming ties between the two sides.
The rule change, which becomes effective next week, came after the ministry gave the green light in December for the island s leading flat panel maker AU Optronics Corp. to invest US$3 billion in eastern mainland s Kunshan city.
The approval was conditional, as AU Optronics was allowed only to build a liquid crystal display plant there using the so-called 7.5 generation technology, or one generation lower than its plant built on the island.
AU Optronics 8.5 generation plant in Taiwan produces 50-inch panels. That restriction was aimed at keeping the island s most vaunted high technology at home while allowing its flat-panel makers to tap the mainland s vast market.
But calls for easing controls on investment in the mainland have mounted among Taiwan s high-tech businesses, who argue that their competitors from South Korea and Japan have gained the upper hand on the mainland.(SD-Agencies)
