Local business representatives yesterday urged the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to hold a referendum on the signing of an economic pact with Beijing, saying they were against signing the planned accord under the “one China” principle.
Taiwan Friends Association president Hwang Kun-hu (黃崑虎) threatened to stage a demonstration to protest the planned economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) if the government turned a deaf ear to their concerns.
As Ma has expressed the hope to see results by the end of the year, Hwang yesterday urged the administration to make public and explain details of the planned accord as soon as possible.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Hwang called on the government to allow more businesses to participate in discussions and debates over the planned accord.
The decision-making process must also be supervised by the legislature, he said.
“The government will become an autocratic one if it refuses to make public the content and let the legislature examine it,” he said.
Since Ma came into office in May, Hwang said, he has made an all-out effort to lean toward China and cooperate with Beijing to push their joint political agenda.
Hwang criticized the administration for deceiving Taiwanese, adding that the planned agreement would only make the unemployment situation worse.
Association honorary chairman and former presidential adviser Koo Kuan-min (辜寬敏) agreed, saying he fully opposed the pact because of its negative impact on employment in Taiwan.
Koo said many people worry that Taiwan’s sovereignty is being undermined after the two sides signed agreements to launch direct transportation links last year.
Some businesses could benefit from an ECFA, Koo said, but by and large it would cause more harm than good to most businesses and the public.
This is why the government must publicize the details of the economic deal, he said.
Rice farmer Huang Kun-bin (黃崑濱) urged the government to care for farmers because they fed people from all walks of life. Once the deal was signed, Huang said he was afraid local industries would go out of business because they could not compete with cheap Chinese competitors.
You Te-erh (游德二), who is in the ceramics industry, said it would make more sense to sign free-trade agreements (FTA) with other countries because 40 percent of the country’s exports already went to China. The economic pact would only lead to more economic dependence on China, he said.
If Beijing wanted to show goodwill, it should allow Taiwan to sign FTAs with other countries, he said. He also urged China to respect the country’s will regarding the name used for the economic agreement, adding that the issue must be clearly spelled out at the negotiation table.
The government must also map out a well-thought-out plan to compensate for losses in other industries resulting from the agreement, he said.
Tea farmer Chen Tsung-chien (陳聰鑑) said the government was in no position to sign any agreement with any country because so far it had failed to deal with the impact of the country’s accession to the WTO.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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