The government has been in contact with China on the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) and is considering the addition of an “opt out” clause in the trade pact, Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said at a forum in Taipei yesterday.
Yiin did not provide further information about the agreement for fear that revealing too many details could jeopardize the cross-strait trade talks.
At present, the two sides are engaged in “independent analyses,” Yiin told the ECFA discussion forum hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).
Yiin had previously said that government contacts with China would happen sometime next month after independent assessments are concluded by both sides. His comment yesterday showed that cross-strait talks have proceeded at a much faster pace than anticipated.
Yiin said the government welcomed differing voices and said there was more work to be done.
Yiin said he expected the ECFA would increase Taiwan's GDP growth by 1.374 percentage points.
He promised to take various suggestions into consideration, including more public disclosure and the possibility of an “opt out” clause in the ECFA.
“Once ECFA talks get underway, the potential addition of an opt out clause will be considered [to protect us] if China fails to follow the guidelines or to demonstrate good faith in the execution,” Yiin said.
Tu Jenn-hwa (杜震華), an associate professor at National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development, echoed Yiin’s remarks on an “opt out” clause, saying that many international trade agreements have such clauses.
“This measure aims to protect countries under special circumstances. A country possesses the right to inform a counterparty of its desire to terminate all talks effective one year after date of notification,” Tu said.
Former vice premier Wu Rong-i (吳榮義) said any cross-strait trade agreement needed to be signed in good faith.
“China has more than 1,000 missiles targeted at Taiwan. With all this hostility, there is no foundation of trust,” Wu said.
As any trade agreement has its pros and cons, Wu said the government should show Taiwanese the nuts and bolts of the agreement so people can assess the potential benefits and disadvantages of an ECFA.
“Signing an ECFA with China will no doubt immediately benefit industries in the petrochemical, machinery and automobile parts sectors, but for many more domestic traditional industries, small to medium enterprises as well as laborers, such an arrangement will severely jeopardize their survival,” he said.
A recent study conducted by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research showed that proceeding with an ECFA with China would put 120,000 Taiwanese out of work. Workers in the electronics, agriculture and non-metal industries would be the most severely hit, it said.
Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章), former minister of finance and former chief representative to the WTO, also expressed doubts at the forum, saying that Taiwan would not necessarily be marginalized if it did not proceed with an ECFA immediately.
“We are not the EU. We are not members of the North American Free Trade Agreement … For the longest time, Taiwan has not been part of any regional economic organization,” Yen said.
“Now with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its free-trade zone coming into being, I feel we are jumping to conclusions when we say that Taiwan will become a fringe economy if it does not act now,” Yen said.
MAC Vice Chairman Fu Don-cheng (傅棟成) told the forum that signing an ECFA with China was a necessary step to normalize cross-strait trade relations.
However, Fu said the country needed more than a trade pact with China.
“Grander vision and better action plans are required for Taiwan's long-term economic development. An ECFA with China is not enough,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday welcomed public input about an ECFA with China, saying the more opinions that were voiced, the better the government could serve public interest.
Ma said he realized there were different opinions regarding the ECFA, with some expressing concern over its potential negative impact on traditional industries.
He encouraged the public to “speak without reserve,” adding that he paid equal attention to both the high-tech and traditional industries.
“The more opinions, the better the job the government will do,” he said while visiting Hsilo Township (西螺), Yunlin County, where he held talks with young people as part of an activity to encourage young people to return to their hometown to work.
Protesters from different townships held banners along the route taken by Ma's motorcade. They urged the government to pay attention to their plight and address the problem at Chuoshui River (濁水溪), which has long been plagued by drifting sand.
Ma is bent on forging ahead with the accord and hopes to see concrete results by the end of the year. He has also ruled out holding a referendum on whether to sign the agreement, saying it was costly and took time to publicize.
While Ma said he would like to see both sides discuss the accord during the third cross-strait talks scheduled for the first half of this year, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said it was still awaiting MAC authorization to discuss the issue with Beijing.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has said that Ma is not qualified to be president of the country because of his stubbornness in signing an ECFA with China despite strong opposition from the public.
Bowing to mounting pressure, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) has vowed that the government would be cautious in pursuing the agreement with China, adding that the government would not negotiate an ECFA under a political framework set out by Beijing.
BAIL APPEALS: The former vice premier was ordered to be held incommunicado despite twice being granted bail and paying a total of NT$12 million in bond The Taoyuan District Court yesterday ordered the detention of former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and that he be held incommunicado. The court made the ruling during a bail hearing after prosecutors appealed its bail ruling twice. Cheng on Saturday was released after posting bail of NT$5 million (US$153,818). However, after prosecutors lodged an appeal, the High Court on Monday revoked the original ruling and ordered the Taoyuan District Court to hold another bail hearing. On Tuesday, the district court granted bail to Cheng a second
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
PEACE AND SECURITY: China’s military ambitions present ‘the greatest strategic challenge to Japan and the world, Japan’s annual defense white paper said yesterday Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion. Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion. “Because of that increase in military activity,
HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei. ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers