President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged the businesses not included in the “early harvest” list of a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with Beijing not to fret, saying a second-wave early harvest list would come soon.
“We do not rule out such a possibility,” he told reporters at the Presidential Office during a lunch for the Dragon Boat Festival, which is celebrated today.
The early harvest list refers to goods and services that will be subject to immediate tariff concessions or exemptions, which are expected to form the backbone of the proposed deal.
Ma said the administration would proceed with an ECFA with Beijing gradually and that the accord would be signed in a piecemeal manner.
“Many think the negotiations are over, but they are not,” he said. “There is so much more to talk about.”
Taipei and Beijing concluded the third round of negotiations on an ECFA in Beijing on Monday, but did not finalize the early harvest lists.
Both sides were tight-lipped about whether there would be a fourth round of talks and when it would take place.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Monday that China would offer tariff exemptions or reductions on about 500 items from Taiwan, while about 200 Chinese products would enjoy similar tariff concessions when entering the Taiwanese market.
Ma declined to describe the ratio, which ostensibly favors Taiwan, as a “victory,” saying the value of the items was more important than the number of items, and that the issue was “more complicated” than simply the number and value of the items to be included.
“The items we are negotiating now are those allowed to enter each other’s markets, but don’t forget we still ban more than 1,400 items from China,” he said.
Asked whether the pact would be signed this month, Ma said it was possible, but emphasized it hinges on when the two sides reach a consensus on the final items of the early harvest program.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus said it would call two extra legislative sessions by the middle of August to review the proposed ECFA.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said he expected the first session to be held in the middle of next month, but the legislature may not be able to complete the review until the second session in August because it might rule to put the agreement to cross-party negotiations.
Some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers attended a briefing at the legislature by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on the third round of talks on an ECFA, reportedly at the personal invitation of Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
During the meeting, it was announced that the number of Chinese products set to receive preferential treatment would be about 250, an increase of 50 from the previous day.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND VINCENT Y. CHAO
Also See: All DPP hopefuls to participate in anti-ECFA rally
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary