The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday assailed the government’s landmark trade deal with China, saying the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) would benefi the interests of larger corporations at the expense of small and medium-sized businesses.
“The [government] has only taken into account the needs of large corporations. It doesn’t care about the damage to small and medium-sized businesses, which will be unable to adapt [to an ECFA],” DPP ECFA response team spokesperson Julian Kuo (郭正亮) told a press conference yesterday.
The DPP also released a poll saying that up to 43 percent of the public believe that an ECFA would decrease personal incomes, against 26 percent who believed it would result in an increase.
The DPP poll said that 53 percent of respondents agreed that the nation’s unemployment problems would become worse following the signing of the agreement, compared with 38 percent who believed otherwise.
At the same time, 86 percent said they believed the income gap would grow if an ECFA were signed.
This shows Taiwan is not ready to accept the impact of the trade deal, the DPP said, adding that it should first be subject to a public referendum before coming into force.
Kuo also said that while cross-strait negotiators have said that up to 17 of Taiwan’s more fragile industries would not be included in the agreement, this could be revised as soon as six month after it is signed when the ECFA is reviewed.
“Even though they are not included in the early harvest list, China has made no promise that it won’t force Taiwan to open its market to goods from these 17 industries in the future,” Kuo said.
An ECFA is the first to step to an eventual “one China market” and the integration of the economies either side of the Taiwan Strait, he said, adding that it could lead to common taxation and financial policies in future.
Saying that the agreement was modeled on Hong Kong’s Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), Kuo added that the ECFA abandoned WTO practices as cross-strait trade disputes would be handled by a joint committee instead of the WTO.
DPP spokesperson Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said the publication of the early harvest list further showcased the legitimacy of the DPP’s protest rally against the ECFA to be held tomorrow in Taipei.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS