The Chinese government’s plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with Taiwan is aimed not just at bolstering cross-strait commerce, but at stifling the Taiwanese independence movement, a former US official said in Taipei on Friday.
Susan Shirk, former deputy assistant secretary of state during the administration of former US president Bill Clinton, made the remarks when asked about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) eagerness to sign an ECFA.
Under Ma, the government has proposed signing an ECFA with China, saying that it is urgently needed for Taiwan because a free-trade agreement between China and ASEAN will take effect next year, which would further marginalize Taiwan and cripple its trade-dependent economy.
PHOTO: CNA
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), however, has warned that the agreement would jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty, make it too economically dependent on China and lead to an influx of Chinese capital and goods.
At the press event on Friday, Shirk said that she believed increasing trade across the Taiwan Strait could greatly benefit Taiwan, but added that Taiwan should never underestimate the risk and urged the nation to further investigate Beijing’s motives behind the ECFA.
Taiwan has an “efficient government” with regular, democratic elections, she said. Therefore, if the public is worried that China might eventually absorb Taiwan’s economy, the people should express their concern with their ballots.
Shirk did not elaborate whether she meant the issue should be put to a referendum.
In her book titled China: The Fragile Superpower, Shirk wrote about the disparity of wealth in China and the Chinese public’s increased desire for democracy as the economy booms.
Shirk on Friday said that as the international community witnesses the rise of Beijing, it is important to be mindful of China’s “fragile interior,” which would make Chinese authorities more stringent and harder to predict.
To quell any suspicion or worries from the international community, China’s diplomacy could be described as more flexible, she said. But despite the changes, China still has many problems.
In related news, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) urged the public to sign a petition asking the government to hold a referendum on the ECFA issue during a visit to Kaohsiung City yesterday.
Tsai said her party estimated that the proposed economic treaty would affect around 4 million people, especially laborers and farmers in central and south Taiwan.
“The public must stand up and say no to Ma, who is following China and moving toward unification,” she said.
The DPP has said it plans to collect 100,000 signatures by the end of next month in the first stage of its plan to call a referendum.
Tsai said that the party hopes to collect at least 6,600 signatures in Kaohsiung City.
The Referendum Act (公投法) stipulates that the signatures of 0.5 percent of eligible voters — approximately 80,000 — must be collected to apply for a referendum.
In the second stage, 5 percent of eligible voters — approximately 800,000 — must sign the petition before the Referendum Review Committee will sanction the proposed referendum.
Ma has voiced his opposition to a referendum on the ECFA issue, saying that the proposed agreement was not a political issue.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS