The Taiwanese government is seeking to lift a ban on Chinese investment in its crucial semiconductor design industry, in what is a highly controversial move just two months before an election that could bring to power an opposition party sceptical of closer ties with Beijing.

台湾政府正寻求解除对中国大陆投资其至关重要的半导体设计行业的禁令。距离大选仅有两个月之际，这是一个极具争议的举动，对两岸建立更紧密关系持怀疑态度的反对党有望在此次大选中上台。

John Deng, Taiwan’s minister for economic affairs, said that in the face of fierce competition from China, the self-governing island had no choice but to open its doors further to Chinese companies in order to support the semiconductor industry.

台湾经济部部长邓振中(John Deng)称，面对来自中国大陆的激烈竞争，自治的台湾别无选择，只能进一步向大陆企业敞开大门，以支撑其半导体行业。

“We certainly understand that the market is not only in Taiwan, it’s everywhere, including in China,” said Mr Deng. “So a proper relaxation of this policy may now be needed.”

“我们当然明白，市场不仅在台湾，到处都是，包括大陆，”邓振中说，“因此，适当放松这一政策现在可能是必要的。”

He said that Taiwan was struggling to compete with China’s ambitious industrial development plans at an already difficult time, with its economy shrinking for the first time in six years during the third quarter.

他说，在本已困难的时期（台湾经济第三季度出现六年来的首次萎缩），台湾难以与大陆雄心勃勃的产业发展规划竞争。

The minister said that the proposed reform would need to be “carefully managed” to protect Taiwanese jobs and technology but that it wasnecessary to allow more Chinese investment or risk that the industrywould lose relevance.

邓振中表示，拟议中的改革需要得到“谨慎管理”，以保护台湾的就业和技术，但允许更多大陆投资是必要的，否则台湾的半导体行业将面临被边缘化的风险。