“The NDC states that mainland China's legal environment is not transparent, with many unwritten rules increasing the risk of entrepreneurship. Mainland China is not the region of choice for Taiwan's young entrepreneurs, and is not a good environment for entrepreneurship.” – Statement by the NDC

 Image Credit: Shuttterstock/ Business man refusing money offered by business man isolated on white

Over the past several days, a conflict has emerged between Alibaba, China's leading e-commerce company, and the Taiwan government. Just as Alibaba announced it would establish a US$315 million fund to support entrepreneurs on the island, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs demanded the company withdraw from the island within six months. The bureau argued that Alibaba misleadingly registered in Taiwan as a Singapore-based entity, while its IPO filing revealed it to be a mainland Chinese company, which would henceforth subject it to a different set of regulations.

Yesterday, Taiwan's National Development Council, a branch of the Executive Yuan, issued a public statement that directly addressed Alibaba's proposed fund.

The NDC's release primarily reiterates already-disclosed government initiatives to support domestic startups. Under the HeadStart Taiwan project, which was formally approved last August, the government has invested a total of US$83 million across four venture capital funds, and is in the process of building a 20,000 square-meter startup cluster in the Taipei Expo Park. It also mentions a proposed government-backed fund that would invest directly into Taiwan and Silicon Valley-based startups.

When in Taiwan, do as the Taiwaninees do

But the most telling part lies at the bottom of the release, where the NDC warns Taiwan's entrepreneurs of alleged dangers of the mainland. It reads (translation ours):