Signing an economic cooperation framework agreement (EFCA) could make it easier for US officials to push for a free-trade agreement (FTA) between Taiwan and the US, Taiwan’s representative to the US Jason Yuan (袁健生) said at a Foreign and National Defense Committee meeting yesterday.
His remarks, however, sparked criticism from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, who admonished the US representative and told him to be cautious on what he says about US views on the trade pact because the topic is one of the most contentious issues in Taiwan.
Yuan said US officials had said that Taiwan-US relations, even down to the details of such an FTA, were “more or less politically related.”
“If the [cross-strait] ambiance is good, it would be easier to push for an FTA between Taiwan and the US. Therefore, they are looking forward to seeing if signing an ECFA will be successful. If so, it means that there is a consensus on trade relations across the strait. It would then be easier for them to push a [Taiwan-US] FTA,” Yuan said.
Yuan went on to stress that “more than one” US official, not merely think tank scholars, had expressed similar views.
DPP Legislator William Lai (賴清德) asked Yuan to disclose the names and ranks of the US officials, as well as details of the conversations he mentioned, saying such statements could strongly sway public opinion on the issue.
“If signing an ECFA with Beijing will increase Taiwan’s chances of signing an FTA with US, then this is a big deal and could influence public opinion,” Lai said, asking that Yuan disclose the information so the public can decide whether to trust him or not.
Yuan said he could not give the names, but suggested that Lai use his capacity as a lawmaker to ask American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt for his position on the matter.
Last month, when Burghardt was asked if signing an ECFA would help Taiwan in its bid to sign an FTA with the US at a meeting with reporters in Taipei, he declined to give a direct answer and instead said: “I would just say that the view of the US is that WTO members have the right to negotiate free trade agreements with each other. If some countries have different views on that, that’s their view, but that would be the view of the US.”
In an address in January to the San Francisco Taiwan Chamber of Commerce, Burghardt said that the expansion of cross-strait economic ties was also bolstering the value of the US’ economic partnership with Taiwan. As Taiwan and China advance their efforts to create trade agreements, “such efforts have the strong potential to mutually reinforce and promote the parallel US-Taiwan work of building more and more blocks in our strong and ever more open economic relationship,” Burghardt said.
Burghardt was mentioned again during the meeting when Yuan said the AIT chairman had specifically named the Taipei Times as misquoting him several times in the past.
He made the remarks when KMT Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓) asked why Burghardt insisted on speaking in front of the cameras during his meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) last month and if he had any issue with any particular media outlet.
“Yes, he has specifically mentioned the Taipei Times as misquoting him a few times and he felt he needed to clarify his stance,” Yuan said.
Yuan said to curb the issue of biased media reports, the representative office has started translating Taiwan-related news into English to be distributed to US officials on a daily basis. He has also suggested that the Central News Agency (CNA) cover all news related to Taiwan’s activities in the US in order to “balance out other reports.”
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) urged Yuan to convince Washington to pitch a resolution at the upcoming World Health Assembly on granting Taiwan observer status.
Kuan warned that if the resolutin was proposed by Beijing or if the invitation came from the WHO director-general, it would cement Taiwan’s status as an associate member to China.
For this reason the resolution must be raised by the US or a member state other than China, Kuan said.
Yuan said he has already started his lobbying efforts, but added a caveat that the resolution would still fail if the US was the only nation backing it.
‘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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS