Most Taiwanese have misgivings about the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) proposal to renegotiate the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), and further open up universities and workplaces to Chinese, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the KMT’s candidate in January’s presidential election, has outlined an economic policy that would include trade talks with China.
A slump in China’s economy has prompted concern around the world, with many foreign companies cutting back on investment there or pulling out, Chen said at a ceremony to launch a new reservoir project in New Taipei City.
Photo: CNA
“We must not put all eggs in one basket,” Chen said. “Through the diligent efforts of the government and the private sector, Taiwan can do business with countries around the world to spur international trade and economic growth.”
Separately, Acting Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) told lawmakers deliberating the ministry’s budget at the legislature in Taipei that under ECFA, Taiwan has tariff-free status for 18 agricultural products in the Chinese market.
However, people must remain vigilant regarding China’s tactics to influence the outcome of the election on Jan. 13, he said.
Regarding Hou’s promise to relaunch ECFA and Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement talks with China, and his plans for Chinese students, Chen Junne-jih said: “Experts and academics have pointed out that if the KMT were to enact such plans, it would result in massive unemployment among Taiwanese.”
Asked about reports that China is considering reopening imports of Taiwanese pineapples and custard apples, he said: “It is nearly harvest season for pineapples and custard apples in Taiwan, but China has plans to only permit the products from selected orchards and packaging plants.”
“At this stage, there has been no discussions on adjusting the conditions for pesticide and residue testing,” he added.
China has since 2021 unilaterally barred imports of several products, including pineapples and custard apples, usually citing the detection of pesticides or residues at its border controls.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) also slammed Hou’s proposals.
“They show the narrow views of his economic policy, which is to retread the old path of ‘let us depend on the big China market,’” he told a business forum in Kaohsiung. “Taiwanese will not accept it.”
“Under President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) leadership through the past seven years, exports have surged to US$470 billion from US$270 billion, a 74 percent increase, while Taiwan’s stock market has increased to NT$570 trillion [US$18.24 trillion] stock valuation from NT$230 trillion,” Chen Chi-mai said.
“This shows that the DPP works to connect directly to global markets, lifting Taiwan to become an important member of the global manufacturing and business community,” he said.
“Taiwan plays key roles with its exports and supply chains, and is an indispensable member of an alliance of free and democratic countries,” he added.
“Hou is going backward with his plans to return to former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) old road,” Chen Chi-mai said. “I do not think the public would accept it.”
There have been drastic changes in the global economy and international financial markets in the past few years, “but it is obvious that the KMT has confined itself within the narrow framework of Ma’s dependence on ‘China’s big market’ and the so-called ‘1992 consensus,’” he said.
“This runs contrary to mainstream opinion in Taiwan,” he added.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Separately, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that the nation should follow the standard operating procedure agreed upon after the 2014 Sunflower movement.
“The procedure was to set up an oversight mechanism for Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement talks, then to negotiate trade rules and a services trade agreement,” Ko said. “We must take a logical, pragmatic and scientific approach on such issues.”
“Product trade agreements must come before service trade deals,” he said.
“The Sunflower movement happened due to unjustified procedures and errors in the process,” Ko said. “Service trade negitiations affect society a lot, so we should start out small, set up proper rules, then proceed with the other parts.”
“Regarding Chinese students, we would not simply throw open the doors, but would first calculate the capacity of the nation’s universities and enrollment procedures,” he said.
“Things must be planned and under control,” he added.
Additional reporting by Yang Yuan-ting and Ke Yu-hao
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
RSS