评论
打印
On the same day that Apple jolted the tech world with the announcementit will manufacture some Mac computers in the U.S., another piece of tech news slid by largely unnoticed: Two of Apple's Taiwanese suppliers were also planning to bring jobs home.
就在苹果(Apple)宣布它将在美国生产部分Mac电脑这一令科技界震惊的消息那一天，当天的另一则科技新闻却基本未引起外界的注意，这则消息是：苹果的两家台湾供应商也计划将部分就业岗位转移回台湾。
Apple's announcement has made bigger waves because Apple is Apple, and because outsourcing has long been a big headline-grabber in the U.S. But it's also been bigger because, rather than trumpet their decision the way Apple has, the two Taiwanese companies -- Catcher Technology Co. and Largan Precision Co. -- haven't sought the limelight.
苹果的这则声明之所以能引起更大的反响，既是因为苹果毕竟是苹果，也是因为业务外包一直是美国媒体大肆报道的消息。但还有一个原因就是，宣布将回迁部分就业岗位的可成科技(Catcher Technology Co.)和大立光电(Largan Precision Co.)原本就没打算像苹果那样大张旗鼓地宣传其回迁部分生产业务的决定。
The announcement that Catcher and Largan planned to invest in new factories in Taiwan that will create some 3,800 jobs over the next few years came not from the companies, but from Taiwan's government, which approved the companies' investment plans on Dec. 6.
宣布可成科技和大立光电计划在台湾投资设立新工厂、并以此在未来几年创造约3,800个就业岗位这一消息的不是这两家公司，而是台湾政府。12月6日, 台湾政府批准了这两家公司的投资计划。
This was supposed to be the first coup in a new Taiwanese sweetener program to lure businesses back home. But both Catcher and Largan -- which maintain operations on both sides of the strait -- have declined to make any on-the-record comments to China Real Time or other publications and have expressed their desire to avoid media attention. A Catcher official said that 'moving back' was a mislabeling, as the company will continue to operate factories in China, despite expanding its Taiwan operations.
两家公司在台湾投资设厂的计划有望成为台湾政府在出台新的优惠措施以吸引本地企业回流方面的首批成果，但可成科技和大立光电都拒绝向“中国实时报”栏目和其他出版渠道就此事发表正式评论，并表示他们不希望媒体关注此事。这两家公司在台湾海峡两岸都有业务。可成科技的一名管理人士说，称该公司将业务“回迁”台湾是一种错误的说法，因为尽管它将扩大自己在台湾的业务，但可成科技仍将继续在中国大陆开设工厂。
The difference between the two 'onshoring' stories illustrates how Taiwan's manufacturing woes, though similar in some ways to the U.S.'s, are in other ways more complicated. Taiwan's tech companies -- which have largely moved production to mainland China for cost reasons over the past few decades -- have to juggle delicate and sometimes conflicting relationships with governments on both sides of the strait, along with the interests of their big-brand foreign customers.
苹果和这两家台湾公司在处理将业务回迁本土一事上有如此不同的态度，这说明美台两地制造业所面临的困境有其不同之处。台湾制造业所面临的困难虽然在某些方面与美国相似，但在其他一些方面却更为复杂。台湾的科技企业在过去几十年里已经基本上将其生产业务迁移到了中国大陆，以降低成本，但他们却不得不同时拿捏好与海峡两岸的政府以及与他们大牌海外客户的商业利益间的微妙关系，而且这些关系有时还彼此存在矛盾冲突。
With wages rising across China and growing labor unrest threatening operations at mainland factories, Taiwan sees an opportunity to try to convince its 'salmon to swim back home,' as local media have put it. Officials at Taiwan's Industrial Development Bureau, which announced Catcher's and Largan's factory plans, said they didn't know of any companies willing to discuss their participation in the program.
由于中国各地的工资都在上涨，而中国大陆日渐增多的劳工骚乱事件也在威胁着当地工厂的运营，台湾从中看到了说服本地企业将业务回迁台湾的机会，台湾当地媒体将这种回迁称之为“大马哈鱼洄游”。台湾经济部工业局的官员们说，他们不知道有哪些台湾公司愿意谈论他们参与台湾政府吸引本地企业回流的计划。宣布可成科技和大立光电回台湾投资设厂计划的就是台湾经济部工业局。
Hui-Ying Chen, deputy director of the IDB's industrial policy division, said Taiwanese companies returning to invest often want to stay low-key, possibly to avoid accidentally offending clients or the local governments they work with. She said that since many of these companies continue to run factories in China, they likely want to avoid saying anything that might come off as negative toward the business environment there. Moreover, Taiwanese upstream suppliers tend to hold a strong belief that any publicity is bad publicity.
该局产业政策组副组长陈慧英说，返回台湾投资的台湾企业常常希望保持低调，这可能是为了避免无意中冒犯到客户或他们与之打交道的地方政府。她说，由于这些台湾企业有许多仍在中国大陆经营有工厂，他们或许希望避免发表任何可能会被解读为对大陆当地商业环境持负面看法的言论。此外，台湾的上游供应商往往都坚信，任何形式的公众关注都不是好事。
'When they call for information, they will leave their telephone number, but often they won't even tell us what industry they are in,' she said. 'Although they want to invest in Taiwan, many don't want their names announced.'
陈慧英说，当台湾企业向经济部工业局有关部门咨询信息时，他们应该留下自己的电话号码，但他们甚至连自己属于哪个行业都不愿透露；虽然他们希望投资台湾，但他们不希望自己的名字被宣布出来。
Taiwan's new reinvestment incentives began last month, with an aggressive goal of more than doubling the returning investment from overseas Taiwanese businesses to 200 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$6.89 billion) over the next two years. Companies need to meet certain requirements, such as producing critical components or marketing products under their own brand.
台湾新推出的再投资优惠措施于上月出台，其雄心勃勃的目标是，未来两年内使海外台湾企业重回台湾本土进行的投资增加一倍以上，达到新台币2,000亿元(合68.9亿美元)。企业要享受这些优惠措施需要满足几个条件，如在台湾生产重要零部件以及用自有品牌进行产品营销等。
The big lure is that returning companies can increase the proportion of foreign workers they hire to 40% of their work force from 30%, says Ms. Chen. Companies often cite a paucity of domestic blue-collar workers as a barrier.
陈慧英说，这些新优惠措施的一大诱人之处是，返回台湾进行投资的企业可以将企业内外籍劳工占员工总数的比例由目前的30%提高到40%。台湾企业常常说，本地蓝领工人不足是妨碍他们在台湾投资的一个因素。
The measure has been controversial, though, especially among unions, who say that this opens the possibility of importing cheaper labor and disadvantaging domestic workers. Taiwan currently has the same minimum wage for foreign and domestic blue-collar workers, but business groups have been advocating separate wage tracks.
但这些优惠措施也引发了争议，特别是工会人士的不满，他们说这些措施为台湾引进较为廉价的外籍劳工创造了可能性，而这种做法对本地劳工不利。目前台湾的本地蓝领工人和外籍蓝领工人都适用相同的最低工资标准，但台湾的商业团体一直建议政府让这两个群体分别适用不同的最低工资标准。
The incentives have also drawn some criticism from economists such as Kenneth Lin, economics professor at National Taiwan University, who says the island needs to incentivize automation instead of cheap labor if it wants its companies to move up the value chain. Stan Shih, doyen of Taiwan's tech industry and founder of the island's largest computer company Acer, also recently warned that Taiwan has to make sure the manufacturers it lures back produce high-value products.
这些优惠措施也招致了台湾大学经济学教授林向恺等经济学家的批评。他说，如果台湾希望自己的企业沿着价值链向上攀升，它需要采取措施鼓励这些企业提高自动化水平，而不是使用廉价劳工。台湾科技业资深人士、台湾最大电脑企业宏碁股份有限公司(Acer)的创办人施振荣最近也警告说，台湾必须确保它吸引回来的制造商将生产高价值产品。
Acer Chairman J.T. Wang had a more positive appraisal. Local media quoted him as saying at a recent tech event that the focus on reinvestment was the 'most correct thing' Taiwan's government has done in five years.
但宏碁董事长王振堂对这些优惠措施却有较为积极的评价。台湾当地媒体在报道中援引他最近在一个科技界活动中的话说，将关注点放在吸引台湾企业回台再投资上是台湾政府五年来干的“最正确的事”。
