An old CHINESE saying has it that “he who started the problem should finish it.” In the case of the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), this idea was all started by the current administration, so it is incumbent on the government to answer the important questions people have about the cross-strait pact.
What would an ECFA entail? What impact would it have on the public in the short, medium and long term, and what benefits and negative effects could we expect? The government should also answer public concerns about the potential political repercussions.
I used to head the international section of the Ministry of Finance Department of Customs Administration, and part of the job involved developing domestic anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties. When drafts were drawn up, we would solicit the opinions of everyone involved. Each and every opinion was valued, as it was a chance to get the final version right. We would collate all of the problems and potential solutions, making sure everything was covered and laid out clearly. We were the administration team, after all. This was expected of us.
As Yuan Hongbing’s (袁紅冰) book Taiwan Disaster (台灣大劫難) shows, the Chinese government, in an effort to keep its hold on power, is trying to justify totalitarianism and press ahead with dumbing down its population. It has tried to exploit the global financial crisis to support its contention that the writing is on the wall for the free, democratic world — and it has marked Taiwan as the first step in this process.
The initiation, maintenance, changes to and elimination of all of China’s economic, cultural, academic, social and religious exchanges with Taiwan are centrally directed and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
In order to achieve its political goals, Beijing will use every carrot and stick in the book, creating or destroying fortunes overnight as it sees necessary.
It may offer great temporary success to a select few, but in the end it will suck the marrow out of all Taiwanese — as can be seen from Hong Kong’s experience after it signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement with China in 2003, or the many cross-strait agreements that exist in name but cannot be implemented.
According to the principles of evidentiary law, the burden of proof concerning the value of the ECFA lies with the government. It is therefore inappropriate to switch the focus by promoting the agreement with the help of celebrity endorsers and their vague advertisements.
The government should instead put opinions from both sides of the debate, along with evidence and data, out in the open. Give the public the space it needs to examine each side. Then hold a referendum before deciding whether to sign the agreement.
Wang Fu-jen is a senior counselor at the Ministry of Finance.
TRANSLATED BY PAUL COOPER AND EDDY CHANG
Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) led a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan in late February. During their various meetings with Taiwan’s leaders, this delegation never missed an opportunity to emphasize the strength of their cross-party consensus on issues relating to Taiwan and China. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi are leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Their instruction upon taking the reins of the committee was to preserve China issues as a last bastion of bipartisanship in an otherwise deeply divided Washington. They have largely upheld their pledge. But in doing so, they have performed the
It is well known that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) ambition is to rejuvenate the Chinese nation by unification of Taiwan, either peacefully or by force. The peaceful option has virtually gone out of the window with the last presidential elections in Taiwan. Taiwanese, especially the youth, are resolved not to be part of China. With time, this resolve has grown politically stronger. It leaves China with reunification by force as the default option. Everyone tells me how and when mighty China would invade and overpower tiny Taiwan. However, I have rarely been told that Taiwan could be defended to
It should have been Maestro’s night. It is hard to envision a film more Oscar-friendly than Bradley Cooper’s exploration of the life and loves of famed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. It was a prestige biopic, a longtime route to acting trophies and more (see Darkest Hour, Lincoln, and Milk). The film was a music biopic, a subgenre with an even richer history of award-winning films such as Ray, Walk the Line and Bohemian Rhapsody. What is more, it was the passion project of cowriter, producer, director and actor Bradley Cooper. That is the kind of multitasking -for-his-art overachievement that Oscar
Chinese villages are being built in the disputed zone between Bhutan and China. Last month, Chinese settlers, holding photographs of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), moved into their new homes on land that was not Xi’s to give. These residents are part of the Chinese government’s resettlement program, relocating Tibetan families into the territory China claims. China shares land borders with 15 countries and sea borders with eight, and is involved in many disputes. Land disputes include the ones with Bhutan (Doklam plateau), India (Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin) and Nepal (near Dolakha and Solukhumbu districts). Maritime disputes in the South China