The 15 economic proposals announced by China last Saturday for the benefit of Taiwan are not as appealing as they seem, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said.
Beijing held out 15 potential economic agreements with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at the end of their forum in Beijing and ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) visit to the US.
But Wu said on Monday night that any benefits brought about by these economic measures would be limited and some were simply the same old things with a new label.
"Many of the measures resemble old wine in a new bottle, including the recognition of diplomas issued by Taiwanese universities and cooperation on agricultural parks," Wu said.
China also offered Taiwan deals on aviation, agriculture and finance.
On agriculture, the measures would add four types of Taiwan-grown fruit to a list of 18 varieties that can be exported to China, extend tax-free import status to 11 new types of vegetables and let Taiwanese fishing boats sell their catch in Chinese markets, according to China's Xinhua News Agency.
Wu, however, cast doubt on how significant the benefits would be as Taiwanese fruit exports to China last year reached only US$1.29 million, or about 0.17 percent of the nation's total fruit export.
"Some types of produce are not even enough to satisfy domestic consumption, so why would we want to export them to China? This way, the prices of these products would increase in Taiwan and it would actually be bad for Taiwanese consumers," Wu said.
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