The two sides of the Taiwan Strait are still in talks on the titles to be used by the signatories of a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) on financial supervision, Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Sean Chen (陳冲) said yesterday.
“If China fails to respect our basic principles in this regard, we would rather not sign the accord,” Chen said at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee.
Asked who would represent Taiwan at the signing of the MOU with China, Chen said the pact would be signed in his name.
“We have asked that my full official title be spelled out on the document, but the other side has not agreed,” Chen said.
He said the word “China” was included in his Chinese counterpart’s official title, while his own title carries the words “the Financial Supervisory Commission under the Executive Yuan.”
Beijing, however, is opposed to having the words “the Financial Supervisory Commission under the Executive Yuan” appear on the document, he said.
Under international practices and precedents, financial MOUs are usually signed by the financial supervisory agencies of the signatory countries, he said.
“I would rather not sign the document if it’s going to put our national dignity on the line,” he said.
The MOU would outline financial regulatory systems to pave the way for the two sides to approve reciprocal operations by their banking, insurance and securities institutions.
Chen said there would be two versions of the MOU, with one in traditional characters and the other in simplified characters.
The Finance Committee passed a resolution yesterday to bar Chinese banks from entering Taiwan before the two sides of the Taiwan Strait sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA).
The resolution stipulates that the commission should not approve applications by Chinese banks to set up offices in this country until after the proposed ECFA has been signed and currency conversion and settlement have been allowed under the ECFA’s “early harvest” list of agreements.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said he believes the resolution would prevent the executive branch from granting market access to Chinese banks right after signing the MOU.
Chen assured lawmakers that his commission would carefully screen applications by Chinese banks to open local branches after the MOU is signed.
Noting that Taiwanese banks’ return on assets (ROA) — an indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets — was only 0.16 percent, Chen said the commission would scrutinize the reasons listed by Chinese banks for wanting to open branches in this country.
China has many restrictions on foreign investments in its banking, insurance and securities sectors and under the WTO, relaxation of those restrictions will be included in the “early harvest” list in the ECFA negotiations, he said.
Meanwhile, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday stressed the importance of equality and dignity when dealing with China.
“Equality and dignity are significant requirements for all cross-strait negotiations and agreements,” he said. “If we abandon the principle, we will sign nothing. We will sign the agreement only when the principle is upheld.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
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