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.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday established a friendship group with their counterparts in Ukraine to promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries. A ceremony in Taipei for the Taiwan-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Association, initiated by DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), was attended by lawmakers and officials, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) and European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Lutz Gullner. The increasingly dire situation in Ukraine is a global concern, and Taiwan cannot turn its back when the latter is in need of help, as the two countries share many common values and interests,
RSS