The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of tampering with an impact assessment report on signing an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, saying the ministry had deflated potential job losses that could follow the trade deal's implementation.
Speaking at a DPP-hosted press conference, Taiwan Thinktank chairman Chen Po-chih (陳博志), who formerly served as chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), said the ministry had fabricated the numbers in a report claiming that an ECFA would boost GDP and create jobs.
Chen said the report, which was conducted by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research for the ministry, based its calculations on two contradictory scenarios — full employment and serious unemployment.
The MOEA tampered with the concluding figures in the report by “adjusting” the formulas, he said.
Chen added that during a “state affairs forum” in April, he asked Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) about the negative effects an ECFA would have on Taiwanese industries.
Chen said the minister did not dare state that the trade pact would pose zero harm to local industries, but only said it was vital for Taiwan to sign the deal with Beijing.
Yiin probably already knew of the ECFA's adverse effects, but purposely concealed it from the public, Chen said. He urged the Control Yuan to investigate the ministry and Yiin for possible malfeasance.
DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) panned the government for lying to the public by having the MOEA tweak the analysis report.
In response, the ministry issued a statement last night saying that it had “adjusted the figures to better reflect reality in its assessment.”
At a separate setting, the DPP yesterday warned that China could sneak in unification rhetoric in the planned trade agreement, and Taiwan could end up being trapped in the “one China” framework
The DPP made the remarks in the wake of President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) statement on Wednesday that the ECFA would not include politically sensitive language.
Ma said his administration would expedite the signing of the agreement and promised that it would not contain terms such as “one China,” “peaceful unification” “or “one country, two systems.”
“We are highly doubtful of his promise. Even if these terms do not appear in the document, Beijing would find a way to sneak in its political agenda,” DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
The absence of these controversial phrases is not a guarantee that the trade pact would be signed outside of Beijing's “one China” framework, Cheng said.
China has in the past few months made several demands to bring the Ma government to its knees, Cheng said, such as demanding that Taiwan open up direct flights across the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
The median line is an imaginary line of defense in the Taiwan Strait that was drawn up by the US.
Although the Ma administration has rejected the request, Beijing is unlikely to keep catering to Taipei's wishes, Cheng said, adding that the trade pact would pave the way for China to introduce political issues into the agreement.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) also warned the government yesterday that inking an ECFA with China would be economic and political suicide for Taiwan.
TSU Chairman Huang Kuan-huei (黃昆輝) said signing an ECFA with China would be like putting all eggs in one basket by tying Taiwan's economy to a single market — China — instead of expanding its focus to cover the world markets.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he