A store that sells commodities from Taiwan’s Pingtung county officially opened at a duty-free market in Pingtan, Fujian province on Oct 1, according to ptnet.cn.

A store featuring products from Taiwan’s Pingtung county is opened at a duty-free market in Pingtan, Fujian province, Oct 1. [Photo/ptnet.cn]

Besides a variety of farm products, the Pingtung store also displays high-tech devices used for house decoration, according to Li Zhengxian and Liao Youxiang, co-owners of the store.

They both gave up jobs with decent salaries in Taiwan and headed to Pingtan for new career startups due to the incentives Pingtan offers for investors and entrepreneurs.

Li said he had made five inspection tours to Pingtan before finally settling there, because he is convinced that Pingtan has a promising future.

Pingtan was designated by central authorities in 2010 as a pilot zone for cross-Straits cooperation. It is the closest place in the mainland to the Taiwan Island, only 68 sea miles away from Taiwan’s Hsinchu county. It takes about 2.5 hours by ship between Pingtan and Taiwan.

Liao echoed the sentiment, saying that he is bullish on Pingtan’s development potential and that’s why they prefer Pingtan over other emerging economic zones in the mainland.

Li was also grateful for all the help he has received from local people.

The business of the Pingtung store at a market in Pingtan looks good. [Photo/ptnet.cn]

“Pingtan is a unique place. I’ve made friends with many entrepreneurs who have provided me much help business and life-wise. They are great people and living here I feel like just as I did in Taiwan.”

“I hope to add more Taiwan elements to Pingtan by introducing the Smart Home lifestyle.”

An employee at the store exhibited a new waterproof technology by dropping his cell phone in some water. The phone still worked normally after being pulled out.

The secret lies in the nano-materials put inside the handset, which serve as a protective coating, according to the employee.

With the addition of the Pingtung store, the market has opened nine themed stores in cooperation with Taiwan’s cities and counties including Taipei, Xinbei, Yilan, Nantou, Yunlin and Changhua.

The owner of the Pingtung store invites customers for a cup of tea. [Photo/ptnet.cn]

Background:

The Taiwan Commodity Market, which opened in June 2014, is situated in Aoqian town, covering about 160,000 square meters.

It comprises 38 buildings in the Minnan folk style, divided into a duty-free zone, non-duty free zone and support function zone.

A favorable tax policy operates at the market, with tax exemptions granted by the Ministry of Finance on six categories of Taiwan goods: oil and grain products, farm products, textiles and garments, artwork, light industrial products, and medicine.

The daily cap per person is 6,000 yuan ($960), and purchasing records are tracked. If the sum exceeds the threshold, both customers and merchants are notified to pay the tax.