Government and Policy

Xiamen public institution hires first Taiwan manager

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-07 07:17

XIAMEN - Wu Yih-lee, a 55-year-old man from Taiwan, now has a job on the Chinese mainland as the vice director of an investment service center affiliated to the government of Xiamen City in Fujian province, which is on the other side of the Taiwan Straits.

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"Being here allows me to see the sea everyday and eat my favorite local cuisine - soy sauce and fish balls," Wu said.

But more importantly, he added, "Working here can bring my managerial expertise into full play."

In fact, Wu was the first?person from Taiwan?who?has been employed in a managerial post in one of the province's public institutions, which allocated 15 such posts for talented?from the island?in July last year.

Li Wendong, deputy secretary of the Haicang District committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Xiamen, said the appointment of Wu was also a breakthrough for public institutions on the Chinese mainland in the hiring of talented Taiwanese.

The move to hire 15 Taiwanese for management posts in public institutions in Fujian was first announced by Sun Chunlan, the province's Party secretary, at a cross-Straits forum in June last year.

The other posts are in universities, research institutes and administrative committees of economic zones.

At the forum, Sun said the move was intended to expand the exchange of talents between Fujian and Taiwan.

To ensure fairness in employment, Li Wendong said the government outsourced the initial assessment of job applicants to a professional recruitment agency.

"Wu stood out among the applicants after several rounds of tests, ?including a psychological test, and interviews," Li said.

According to a Fujian provincial government notice, Wu and others employed in Fujian will enjoy an income similar to their mainland counterparts with an extra allowance of 10,000 yuan ($1,492) and free accommodation thrown in.

Still, Wu said he will earn less in Fujian than he would in Taiwan. But he has his own reasons for choosing the lower paid job on the Chinese mainland.

"I chose to work here primarily because I can do what I love and do it well with my expertise," he said.

The State Council, China's cabinet, in 2009 selected Fujian to pioneer a set of policies toward Taiwan. Over the past two years, the province has issued a series of favorable policies to lure Taiwanese talents.

In July of that year, Taiwanese Kao Jiun-jia became a permanent teacher at Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, two months after the Fujian provincial government approved the province's public institutions employing Taiwanese students with mainland college degrees.

Kao was the first Taiwanese student employed by a mainland university as a faculty member.

In the same year, Fujian authorized senior-ranked professional certificates for 17 Taiwanese doctors, the first group of Taiwanese doctors to obtain the certificates.

Sun said Fujian will continue to support public institutions in the province hiring Taiwanese talents.