A new opinion poll shows a majority of respondents saying they oppose the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) poll, the results of which were released yesterday, showed 45.8 percent of people polled were against signing the proposed trade pact, with 34.9 percent in favor.
Despite the government’s public relations blitz over the past month to promote the ECFA, a large majority of the public is still confused over the content of the proposed pact, the poll revealed.
More than three-quarters of respondents said the government had failed to clearly explain the proposed agreement, while more than half said they believe the agreement will undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty.
The poll of 1,105 voters aged 20 and over, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, also found that 78.7 percent of respondents supported the creation of a cross-strait monitoring team in the legislature to review government agreements with China.
It also showed that 66.1 percent support a nationwide referendum to be held before the government signs an agreement. The poll has an overall margin of error of 2.9 percent.
“What the government has been doing has been wasteful. They have spent a lot of time and money, but still nearly 80 percent of the public say they don’t understand the agreement,” DPP poll center director Chen Chun-lin (陳俊麟) said. “The government needs to make clear what the positive and negative impacts of the ECFA are likely to be on Taiwan.”
Government agencies have been holding promotional events to drum up public support before the expected signing of the agreement in June.
Last week, a series of town hall meetings was criticized after it was revealed that government agencies have subsidized Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers holding such events to the tune of up to NT$300,000 (US$9,400).
“Based on our long-term observations, opposition to the agreement has increased,” Chen said, adding that despite the president’s efforts to reach out to a more rural demographic by holding public meetings with farmers over the last three months, “he just hasn’t been able to connect with the people.”
The ECFA has drawn strong criticism from the DPP and labor organizations concerned that it will lead to a flood of cheap goods and increase Taiwan’s economic reliance on China. Farming organizations have also expressed worries that it could lead to an influx of agricultural products.
The poll indicated that the vast majority of people believe the agreement will favor corporate interests, with more than eight out of ten polled saying it would benefit big business over other segments of society, Chen said.
“The ECFA will have a profound impact on our society,” DPP spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said. “The government has a responsibility to make all relevant information public so that the public better understands and is therefore able to participate in the process.”
The DPP wants the government to hold a national referendum on the ECFA and has pledged to support a referendum initiated by the Taiwan Solidarity Union.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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