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ECFA will not be inked next month, SEF official says

Taipei and Beijing yesterday agreed to sign four agreements during the upcoming cross-strait high-level talks in Taichung next month, but will do nothing more than “exchange opinions” on an economic pact the government seeks to sign with Beijing.

Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) spokesman Maa Shaw-chang (馬紹章) said the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) would not be signed at the meeting next month between SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and his Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).

SEF Secretary-General Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) and ARATS Deputy Chairman Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中) met in Yilan yesterday to discuss details of next month’s meeting.

The four issues to be addressed at the meeting are: fishing industry cooperation, quality checks for agricultural products, cross-strait cooperation on inspection and certification and the prevention of double taxation.

Maa said the two did not engage in “substantive communications” on an ECFA yesterday, but agreed to include it in the issues on which Chiang and Chen can “exchange opinions” during their meeting.

Regarding whether the economic pact would be placed on the agenda of the fifth round of high-level talks in the first half of next year, Maa said it would depend on whether Chiang and Chen agreed to do so next month.

Beijing has postponed the fourth round of unofficial consultation on an ECFA that had been scheduled to be held in Beijing this week. The Ministry of Economic Affairs later downplayed the delay, emphasizing that the planned accord would be a “talking issue” during next month’s meeting.

Maa said Kao and Zheng yesterday agreed to meet again before the Chiang-Chen meeting if necessary. They also agreed that the two sides would jointly hold a symposium during the Taichung meeting to solicit interested investors from each side.

Maa declined to reveal details of the upcoming meeting such as the exact venue, date and schedule, saying only that it would take place in Taichung City next month and last five days and four nights.
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