Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) criticized the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday for passing the buck on a controversial trade pact plan with China.
Lee’s comments came after the ministry’s announcement on Monday that hearings on an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China would be organized by the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) and the Chung-Hua Institute for Economic Research.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said on March 5 that he hoped negotiations on such a pact would take place in the third round of talks between Taiwan and China, which are expected to be held in the first half of this year.
“Is it so difficult for the ministry to communicate with the public on this issue? Why is the ministry using the CNFI as a shield to hide from the public?” Lee said.
The DPP would like to take part in the hearings and voice its opinion, but it was opposed to CNFI holding the hearings because the federation represents the voices of businesses and capitalists, Lee said.
Lee said the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has a tradition of favoring big business but neglecting workers’ rights.
Meanwhile, an MOEA official defended the proposed pact at a public hearing hosted by DPP Legislator Pan Meng-an (潘孟安).
The overall benefits of an ECFA will definitely outweigh any negative impact from any potential deal, Bureau of Foreign Trade Director-General Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬) said.
Representatives from the shoe, leather, silk and towel industries voiced concern over the possible impact of the pact and demanded that the government clearly explain the deal’s content and enact measures to minimize any negative impact.
Describing their concerns and requests as “more than reasonable,” Huang said he would prioritize the interests of Taiwan’s industrial sectors and communicate intensively with every industry that might be harmed by the EFCA deal.
Meanwhile, several academics expressed support for an EFCA yesterday, saying Taiwan would lose competitiveness to South Korea and other rivals if it failed to sign such a pact.
Sophia Shih (史惠慈), a research fellow with Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research, said the pact should be pursued to help Taiwanese firms remain competitive. Otherwise they risked being marginalized on the world’s economic stage, she said.
“It is true China is only part of the global market,” Shih told a seminar on cross-strait commerce. “But it is a market the country cannot afford to ignore.”
She said that China, which accounts for 40 percent of Taiwanese exports, still has relatively high tariffs and Taiwan could seek to remove such trade barriers when negotiating terms for the ECFA.
Shih said that while the best solution would be a free-trade agreement (FTA), an ECFA would be a pragmatic choice if an FTA was untenable in the foreseeable future.
Chen Homin (陳厚銘), chairman of international business department at National Taiwan University, said Taiwan has no alternative for expanding foreign trade.
“The nation has much in common with South Korea in terms of industrial policy and would lose out to it after a trade agreement between the two [South Korea and China] takes effect in a few years,” Chen said. “An ECFA would help avert the scenario. The government should work hard to achieve the goal.”
Chen said many successful multinational corporations had built businesses near their home markets and Taiwan could consider the vast Chinese market its home market in light of the geographic closeness.
He also urged Taiwanese companies to shed the “follower” mentality and develop their own brands.
CIER vice president Liu Bih-jane (劉碧珍) said the country should not resist regional groupings but join the trend when for foreign trade.
“Because the domestic market is small, the nation has to rely on foreign sales to drive the economy,” Liu said. “China provides an opportunity in this regard.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS