A subtle change in attitude by the Ministry of Economic Affairs last week over the speed with which the government has sought to sign an economic pact with China highlights the fact that the public retain the right to change government policy priorities — a reality that Typhoon Morakot brought to light.
On Thursday, during his first meeting with department heads as minister of economic affairs, Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) instructed the ministry’s Office of Trade Negotiations to lobby Taiwan’s major trading partners — Singapore, Japan and the US — for free-trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.
Chinese-language newspapers quoted Shih as saying it was “equally important” to sign FTAs with other countries and ink an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China. He also asked officials for a plan to monitor and evaluate progress.
This was not the first time that the ministry had spoken openly about the importance of FTAs with countries other than China. But ever since it joined the WTO as an independent entity in January 2001, Taiwan has only signed FTAs with five Central American countries: Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras.
Still, the ministry’s renewed interest in FTA talks — despite President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) focus on signing an ECFA early next year — is a sign that the government has adjusted its priorities out of pragmatism and in response to domestic pressure.
Indeed, it is remarkable how little progress the government has made in securing public support for an ECFA. In recent months, concerns about the pact’s impact on the national interest have only grown.
Shih’s predecessor, Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘), focused too much on an ECFA and overlooked growing domestic friction over the matter. Controversies surrounding the few attempts to publicize the would-be pact also backfired: A comic strip sparked outrage over ethnic stereotyping, while businesses fear more and more that an ECFA would benefit large Taiwanese corporations at the expense of smaller firms. The pan-green camp, meanwhile, argues that the pact would undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty.
The massive damage that came with Morakot and the Ma administration’s hamfisted response also triggered new doubts over the government’s ability to safeguard the national interest in negotiations with China.
Government officials erroneously argue that an ECFA would automatically activate FTA talks with other countries. The reality is that Taiwan must do its own ground work to make this happen.
The Ma administration’s enthusiasm for an ECFA has been tempered by Beijing’s lukewarm attitude toward talks with Taiwan following the visit of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama last month, and this could be an additional reason for the ministry’s change of heart.
No one should assume that the ministry’s renewed interest in launching FTA talks with other countries means the Ma administration has abandoned its China-centric policy stance.
This development, however, confirms that unforeseen events, such as natural disasters and global crises, can provide the public with opportunities to make governments listen and, if necessary, to rethink their strategy and policy priorities.
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