Labor leaders criticize the KMT's economic policy

The creation of a "cross-strait common market" between Taiwan and China would negatively impact blue-collar and agricultural workers, while business owners would reap most of the benefit, pro-localization economists and labor leaders said yesterday at a forum.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was under fire at the forum, organized by the Taiwan Labor Front and Taiwan Agricultural Academia Alliance.

"The policy to create a `common market' between Taiwan and China is right there in the KMT's manifesto," said Kenneth Lin (林向愷) a professor of economics at National Taiwan University.

The policy, which can be found on the KMT Web site, lists "the promotion of trade normalization and the structuring of a cross-strait common market" as a goal, along with "establishing direct flights within a year and enlarging cultural, economic, agricultural and financial links."

"China is an important trading partner, but conditions in the two countries are too different for us to belong to a common market," Lin said.

Disparate worker safety standards, environmental standards and consumer safety in the two nations are big sticking points, Lin said.

The impact on Taiwanese farmers would be severe, said Wu Ming-ming (吳明敏), chair of the Taiwan Agricultural Academia Alliance.

"Although in theory we can sell them our agricultural products and they can sell us theirs, in reality we are seeing cheap Chinese agricultural products flooding the market," Wu said.