Critics of the government yesterday told a forum that the government’s proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China was tantamount to a “one China market.”
Kenneth Lin (林向愷), an economics professor at National Taiwan University, said Taiwan would lose its right to make decisions about its survival, development and sovereignty if it signed an ECFA with China, as the ultimate goal of such an agreement would be to remove the barriers to the movement of capital, products, personnel and technology between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait under the framework of a “one-China market.”
Although the ECFA with China could benefit some industries, the government has not told the public the impact it would have on other industries and on sovereignty, he told the forum yesterday hosted by the Taiwan Shadow Government think tank founded by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).
Former minister of finance and former Taiwan permanent representative to the WTO Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章) said an ECFA would be little more than a “letter of intent” with a timetable. It would be a framework for achieving a substantial free-trade agreement (FTA), but would lack any content, he said.
Yen said an ECFA would be a totally “void” pact with no immediate impact on Taiwan’s economy, contrary to what Ma has portrayed, as mutually beneficial measures such as the opening of Taiwan’s market would be necessary to achieve a substantial FTA.
Former vice premier Wu Rong-yi (吳榮義) told the forum it was strange that while China blocks Taiwan from signing any FTAs or similar pacts with other countries, it wants to ink one with Taiwan.
“The roads are all blocked and there is only one path left, but it leads to a trap,” Wu said, adding that there must be some political motivation behind China’s wish to sign an economic agreement with Taiwan.
Also at the forum, Hsieh said: “President Ma promised the economic treaty with China would not involve issues of sovereignty, but Ma has broken his promises many times on various policies before. Are we to believe his word again and risk the country’s existence?”
Hsieh called on the Ma administration to tell the people the truth about the proposed economic pact and to craft a long-term economic development strategy rather than focus on short-term bailout programs.
“Any economic agreement signed between two countries must be mutually beneficial if it is to last,” Hsieh said. “Can this really be something that is so heavily in favor of Taiwan? There must be other motives behind this.”
There should be more transparent discussion on the possibility of signing an ECFA with China, Hsieh said, urging the government not to rush into a decision on the proposal. Public consensus might be more attainable if there are in-depth debates on the issue and on Taiwan’s best interests in the situation, Hsieh said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS