The government should not sign a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with China without the social consensus of the Taiwanese public, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
Tsai made the remark after a local media report quoted National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) as having said the government would sign a CECA with China and that negotiations with China on the issue would begin through the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).
The government should be “more prudent” about the issue as it would affect the country’s economy and politics, Tsai said, urging the government to inform and convince the public of its purpose.
If the government signed a CECA without the consensus of the people, it would have a negative impact on society, Tsai said.
Tsai said the signing of the CECA would involve delicate political issues that might cause serious social conflict in Taiwan if the government does not seek public approval.
The discussion and evaluation of the feasibility of signing a CECA should be conducted in a transparent manner, Tsai said, adding that this would be the “only way” to let Taiwanese understand how the agreement would affect the nation economically, socially and politically.
Industry and business groups have been pushing for the government to forge closer economic links with China by signing a CECA and to quickly liberalize cross-strait trade through measures such as the removal of tariffs.
On Friday, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said in a press statement that it had been closely monitoring the formation of a regional economic bloc that includes ASEAN and its neighboring trade partners China, Japan and South Korea.
The MOEA said that Taiwanese exporters would face tough challenges when the “ASEAN plus one” — ASEAN and China — free trade zone goes into operation next year. Therefore, the government has been seeking free trade agreements (FTAs) with major trading partners and has spared no effort in devising strategies to combat its exclusion from the regional economic bloc, the ministry said.
Amid some doubt in Taiwan regarding the CECA, the ministry said it would conduct a study on how such an agreement could be achieved without sacrificing the overall interests of local industrial sectors.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has sought to build closer economic ties with China, drawing strong criticism from some quarters.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) has said that the proposed CECA with China would force Taiwan to follow the Hong Kong and Macau model, making Taiwan subordinate to Beijing.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS