The cross-strait trade in goods agreement talks should be halted, as the deal would harm the interests of workers and farmers, Green Party-Social Democratic Party alliance candidates said yesterday.
“Our salaries are already low and work hours long enough — how can the government keep harming us, even forcing us to eat contaminated food if the agricultural market is opened up?” alliance legislator-at-large candidate Chang Li-fun (張麗芬) said, adding that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration is pushing forward negotiations on the agreement prior to the passage of supervisory regulations by the Legislative Yuan.
Passage of regulations mandating greater transparency in negotiations with China was a key demand of last year’s Sunflower movement — a student-led action in response to the government’s handling of trade talks with China — with protesters demanding the regulations be passed prior to any further negotiations.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Taipei City Confederation of Trade Unions board of supervisors convener Chiang Wan-chin (蔣萬金) said the agreement would hurt workers’ interests by exposing them to further competition from cheap Chinese labor, forcing businesses in affected industries to shed workers and cut wages.
Transition to other industries would be difficult for affected workers because of their age and the skill gap, Chiang said.
Alliance legislator-at-large candidate Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) said that because the agreement would include more than 2,000 products in “fundamental” industries, such as steel and textiles, it could lead to an “economic tsunami.”
As a caretaker administration, Ma’s government does not possess a blank-check mandate to pursue the agreement in the face of public opposition, Yeh said.
Taiwan Rural Front spokesperson Chen Ping-hsuan (陳平軒) said that based on government statements, at least some agricultural products would be opened to Chinese imports, along with processed food products.
Because remaining agricultural protections are all for “sensitive” products vulnerable to price fluctuations, any further opening would greatly impact the agricultural market, Chen said, calling for the government to publish a list of the specific products being dealt with in the talks.
Rumored border inspection exemptions for Chinese food products would create safety risks, he added.
Protesters also called on the Democratic Progressive Party to take a clear stand against the agreement.
‘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
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
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