The Taiwan Thinktank yesterday urged the government to postpone the implementation of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) it wants to sign with Beijing until Taiwan signs free trade agreements (FTAs) with the US or Japan and they go into effect.
Taiwan Thinktank chairman Chen Po-chih (陳博志) said Taiwan would be better off if the ECFA were not signed, but if it is signed, it would be better to wait until after Taipei inks FTAs with Washington or Tokyo and they become effective.
Chen said it was difficult to say whether Taiwan would benefit more if it inked FTAs with as many countries as possible, but the ECFA would deal a significant blow to businesses if it were signed.
“Globalization and liberalization do not necessarily benefit Taiwan,” he said. “We must be cautious when we negotiate FTAs with Japan, the US and other countries, but we will be doomed if we sign an ECFA with China.”
Taipei and Beijing have agreed to “exchange opinions” on the proposed pact during high-level talks in Taichung next month. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) hopes to sign the ECFA next year.
Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮), an economics professor at the National Central University, urged the Ma administration to resume negotiations on FTAs, especially with Singapore, and a trade and investment framework agreement with the US, as soon as possible.
Even if Singapore eventually signs an FTA with Taiwan, Chiou said, Taiwan should not be too happy because it might be a Chinese scheme to help the Ma administration win support from voters.
He urged that a referendum be held before the ECFA is signed, at least 10 televised debates be held and opinions solicited from national and regional unions.
To help businesses excluded from the planned “early harvest” article of the ECFA, Chiou proposed the government set up a fund in excess of NT$30 billion (US$9 billion) to compensate them for losses.
He also suggested the government levy high taxes on businesses benefiting from the “early harvest” program and use the revenues to compensate industries hit hard by the pact.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we