President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday promised to make good on his campaign promises, stressing that if a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement were signed between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, there would be no influx of Chinese workers, imports of agricultural products from China would not increase and Chinese students would not be permitted to obtain professional licenses in Taiwan.
Ma made the remarks in an interview with the Taipei Times.
While it was important to normalize the nation’s trade and economic relationship with China, normalization did not necessarily mean allowing Chinese workers or more Chinese agricultural products to enter the domestic market, nor would Chinese students be permitted to sit national examinations to obtain professional licenses, Ma said.
As the ASEAN Plus One cooperation framework is set to take effect soon, Ma said it was important to ink a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement with China, but promised to take the interests of domestic industries into consideration should such a pact be signed.
The president said his administration welcomed suggestions concerning the content of the pact and its format, but ruled out holding a referendum to solicit public consensus on the issue.
“A referendum is one option, but it is not the only option,” he said. “It is time-consuming and expensive.”
Ma said that a referendum would cost an estimated NT$300 million (US$8.8 million) to NT$500 million, and also take time to publicize.
More importantly, he said, the thresholds for a referendum are so high that not many referendums had succeeded in the past.
“If the government were to hold a referendum to decide every major policy, it would be very hard for the government to operate,” he said.
“We simply cannot hold a referendum because some people are against a government initiative,” Ma said.
Opinion polls might be a better solution, as long as they were conducted in a modern and scientific manner, Ma said.
More than one opinion poll would have to be conducted by different institutions over a period of time, he said.
Once a cooperation agreement with China has been signed, Ma said, it should proceed to the legislature for approval.
Article 5 of the Act Governing Relations between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) states that all treaties that require legal revision or legislation must be reviewed by the legislature. Those that do not require revision or legislation must be ratified by the legislature.
Ma said he had no problem inking the agreement under the “one China” framework, because “one China” refers to the Republic of China (ROC), the official title of Taiwan.
Asked whether his interpretation conformed to the international reality, Ma said: “If we do not interpret it this way, do you think we should say the ‘one China’ refers to the People’s Republic of China?”
That is the only interpretation according to the ROC Constitution, he said.
Asked whether the ROC Constitution was still suitable for Taiwan, Ma said: “Of course it is,” adding that it had been amended seven times and there was no doubt that the ROC Constitution cannot be implemented in China.
However, Ma acknowledged that not many countries felt the same way.
“As long as there are 23 countries that recognize us, and we also have substantive ties with other countries, we can survive,” he said.
Ma denied that Taiwan’s sovereignty may have been compromised when agreements were signed with Beijing last year, implying that no supplementary plans needed to be made when negotiating with Beijing on the economic pact.
He also dismissed the claim that Beijing’s diplomatic partners consider Taiwan to be part of China because they tend to say they “acknowledge,” “take note of” or “understand and respect” China’s claim, but never say they accept Taiwan’s sovereignty.
“Although they do not recognize us, they do not deny our existence either,” he said. “Our survival does not depend on changing the name of the country, but on our might and competitiveness.”
Editor’s note: The full content of the interview will be published tomorrow.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS