TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Democratic Progressive Party(DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te criticized his Kuomintang(KMT) rival Hou Yu-ih on Thursday (Dec. 7) for advocating the employment of Chinese students in Taiwan, claiming it would steal job opportunities from Taiwanese youths.
Lai, joined by Legislative Yuan candidate Hsu Shu-hua at a local temple in Songshan District, Taipei, voiced his concerns about the impact of the "Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement" (CSSTA) with China. Lai claimed the pact allows Chinese nationals to compete with local vendors in the service industry.
The crowd expressed fears that their businesses would suffer and livelihoods would be threatened if the agreement led to increased competition from Chinese workers.
Lai underscored that under the leadership of President Tsai Ing-wen, the international community has shown keenness to do business with Taiwan, highlighting the island's pushback against over-reliance on the Chinese market.
Lai then shifted his ground by pointing to China's staggering youth unemployment rate, rumored to be around 40%. He cautioned that opening borders to students from across the Strait could exacerbate job scarcity for young people in Taiwan.
