The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) has failed to bring promised prosperity for Taiwan and President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration was irresponsible in hastily pushing through the pact, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday on the fourth anniversary of the signing of the cross-strait pact.
Dubbed by international media as a “landmark agreement” upon its signing on June 29, 2009, it was signed without an impact assessment or sector-by-sector analysis, and the negotiation process was not monitored by the legislature, DPP spokesperson Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said in a press release.
Follow-up negotiations for agreements on service trade and trade in goods have been pursued in the same way as the ECFA, which has not only further stagnated the economy, but also jeopardized the nation’s proud democracy, Hsu said.
Regarding economic gains, Taiwan has been unable to ink any free-trade agreements with China since ECFA’s signing, nor has it been able to attract more foreign direct investment, Hsu said, adding that market shares of Taiwan-made products on the early harvest list in China have been declining.
The Ma administration appears to have made several grave mistakes that have cost Taiwanese businesses dearly, in particular the omission of several strategic products on the tariff-free list, the spokesperson said.
For example, Taiwan’s failure to include flat panels on the tariff-free list had resulted in declining market shares for Taiwanese manufacturers in China, as well as an outflow of the sector’s talent to Chinese rivals.
Given that businesses hit by an opening up of markets to China have not received much help from a budget the Ma administration allocated to help them, it is difficult to believe the government’s claims of assistance should the service trade pact and the trade in goods pact take effect, Hsu said.
A simple review of the ECFA showed the importance of transparency throughout any cross-strait negotiation and why it is essential to establish an oversight mechanism for cross-strait talks before engaging in further discussions over economic integration, he added.
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but