Employees perform regular disinfections at a Taiwan-funded company in Zhangzhou, East China's Fujian province. [Photo by Zhang Jinchuan/Chinanews.com]

“In addition to taking the temperatures of staff members, we have also purchased face masks for them and disinfect the workshops every day to ensure the safety of both workers and production,” said Wu Chin-chung, a Taiwan businessman producing glasses in Xiamen in Fujian province.

Because of the sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Wu’s company resumed operations on Feb 10, later than usual, and only half of the staff members have gone back to work.

“Now it’s time to test the resilience of enterprises amid the epidemic. I believe that there is still huge potential for growth in the mainland market, and I think we can get through this difficult time with the help of the local government,” said Wu.

Enterprises on the mainland have gradually resumed operations from Feb 10, and this included many Taiwan-funded firms; as many as 218 Taiwan companies in Fujian had resumed production as of Feb 11.

Many Taiwan businessmen said that the impact of the epidemic on the economy is temporary and limited, and they are still confident that the mainland’s financial markets will continue performing strongly.

Taiwan entrepreneur Huang Chi-chang runs a company which mainly produces dust-free cloth products and touch screens; his firm formally resumed production on Feb 11.

“The number of orders hasn’t decreased, and we haven’t had any difficulties in producing and selling,” said Huang.

In Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, Taiwan Lioho Machinery Company resumed operation from Feb 10, and more than half of its employees have gone back to work. 

“The epidemic did affect our upstream and downstream business partners, and the difficulty of purchasing components forced us to raise costs, but we are confident that our government can win the battle against the epidemic as quickly as possible,” according to Tsai Jung-hua, manager of Fuzhou Lioho Machinery Company.

Wu Chia-ying, president of the Taiwan Businessmen Association in Xiamen, said that for the last days, the central and local governments have been rolling out a series of policies and measures to help support Taiwan companies in their fight against the epidemic and restore production, which has boosted Wu’s confidence in the recovery of the mainland’s economy and market.