The legislature yesterday ratified the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) after a showdown that saw all the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus’ motions voted down by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) majority.
The vote took place after more than 10 hours of clause-by-clause deliberation, with KMT and DPP lawmakers taking the floor in turn to speak for and against the ECFA.
Yesterday was the first day of the second provisional session of the summer recess initiated by the KMT caucus to have the legislature ratify the ECFA that Taiwan signed with China on June 29.
PHOTO: CNA
Describing the ECFA as the “most important treaty” Taiwan had signed since World War II in terms of its negative impact on the nation’s sovereignty, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said his caucus had done its best to warn against the agreement.
“The ECFA was a product of the KMT cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party in bringing Taiwan under the control of China economically, moving toward eventual unification,” Ker said.
The vote proceeded smoothly after the KMT caucus and President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, initially having insisted on a single vote for the entire ECFA as a package, on Monday agreed to allow motions for revision of the ECFA on an individual basis.
The vote started at 9:20pm. Holding just 33 seats in the 112-seat legislature, the DPP failed in each of its 18 motions.
DPP lawmakers then shouted anti-ECFA slogans, saying the agreement was signed under the “one China” principle.
The KMT caucus, meanwhile, proceeded with its motion to vote for the accord as a whole package.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) hailed the passage of the ECFA, saying its implementation would ensure the country’s economic prosperity for 50 or 60 years.
KMT Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said “China downgraded itself” to sign the accord in the name of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, rather than its official name, in order to help boost Taiwan’s economy.
Upset with the decision, pro-independence advocates gathered outside the legislature cried foul and said the agreement would subject Taiwan to growing Chinese interference.
Holding placards and chanting anti-government slogans, around 50 activists had gathered outside the legislature hours before the vote, saying the review was flawed.
Leading the group, National Taiwan University professor Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴) said the ECFA would “strip Taiwanese people of everything and was an abuse of the people’s rights.”
To prove his point, he stripped off, along with four other activists.
Other activists climbed onto the legislature’s main gate, shouting the ECFA would leave Taiwan with no future and that it should be put to a referendum. Some painted themselves with green paint, saying that the agreement “raped Taiwan.
Although protestors verbally clashed with police at one point in the evening, no scuffles broke out between the group and police.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS