Top negotiators from Taipei and Beijing will meet in Chongqing, China, on Tuesday to sign a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said yesterday.
SEF Vice Chairman Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) said SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) will meet his Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), next week in China to sign an ECFA and an agreement on the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).
The talks, which will last for three days, will be shorter than previous rounds because there will not be any sightseeing involved, Kao said.
Chiang and the delegation will arrive on Monday. He will meet Chen on Tuesday and return on Wednesday.
The trade pact and the IPR agreement will be sent to the Executive Yuan before going to the Legislative Yuan for final approval. The legislature has decided to call a provisional session to deal with the matter.
Earlier yesterday, ARATS Deputy Chairman Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中) said before he met Kao in Taipei for the final round of negotiations that cross-strait negotiations were not a zero-sum game, but benign interactions that would be mutually beneficial.
“It is not a political game staged to declare individual positions, but a communications platform established to practically resolve problems,” he said. “I believe all Chinese on both sides of the Strait have the ability and wisdom to take the future of cross-strait relations into our own hands.”
Zheng said institutionalized negotiations have to be conducted based on three principles. First, both sides insist on equal negotiations and the replacement of confrontation with cooperation.
Second, is to strive for the well-being of people on both sides and promote the “overall interest of the Chinese nation,” he said.
Third is to face the future with an aggressive attitude, he said, adding that cross-strait negotiations should lay a solid foundation for future development and lead cross-strait relations down the correct path.
Zheng commended both sides for focusing on “the long-term interests of the Chinese nation” during the negotiation process. China also made good on its promise to fully consider the practical needs of “Taiwanese compatriots,” including the value and percentage of items on Taiwan’s “early harvest” list.
The “early harvest” list refers to a list of goods and services that will be subject to immediate tariff concessions or exemptions, which are expected to form the backbone of the proposed deal.
Despite describing the ECFA and the “early harvest” program as the “first step of institutionalized economic cooperation” between the two sides, Zheng said that the trade pact could not resolve all problems overnight.
Therefore, both sides need to continue negotiations and strengthen communications to properly address issues after the proposed accord takes effect, he said.
Kao described the ECFA and IPR agreement as a “milestone” in the development of cross-strait relations, saying the two sides have reached a consensus on signing the framework agreement first before proceeding to free trade.
ECFA aims to benefit people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Kao said, adding that the accord was meant to enhance the well-being of the people and industries on both sides.
For Taiwan, an ECFA would create a “benign cycle” for industries so they would compete in a fair environment, he said.
He defined the “benign cycle” as “lowering tariffs, facilitating exports, attracting investment, increasing employment and reviving the economy.”
For China, tariff reductions on the import of raw materials and spare parts from Taiwan would lower production costs, upgrade the competitiveness of its businesses, improve benefits to its labor force and upgrade the standards of Chinese social welfare.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS