President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday acknowledged Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s (溫家寶) comment on “yielding interests” to Taiwan, but said whether he meant it would hinge on China’s “attitude” during economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) negotiations with Beijing.
Ma said Wen’s remark was a gesture of goodwill, but his fundamental principle when negotiating with Beijing was that Taiwan’s interests come first.
“It does not mean we care only about Taiwan’s interests,” he said. “Sometimes when something benefits Taiwan, it also benefits the mainland. And sometimes when something benefits Taiwan, it is not necessarily harmful to the mainland.”
PHOTO: CNA
Ma made the remarks during a question-and-answer session at a press conference in Nauru yesterday afternoon. Ma is in the South Pacific on a six-nation visit.
During the National People’s Congress last week, Wen described Taiwan as “China’s brother.” He said that China would “let the people of Taiwan benefit” from tariff concessions and early harvest programs spelled out in the ECFA. He also said that “relevant arrangements” in the trade pact would help reassure Taiwanese farmers.
Ma yesterday said that he was happy to see Beijing realize the differences between Taiwan and “the mainland,” including the economy, development, population and tariffs. It was not true equality to ask both sides to be equal in these areas because of China’s size relative to Taiwan. However, genuine equality could be attained through proportionality, he said, and would be reflected in negotiations on tariffs, intellectual property rights (IPR) and investment protection.
Ma’s administration is seeking to sign an ECFA with Beijing in May or June. Both sides have agreed to address the issue of IPR protection during upcoming talks.
Ma said he was happy to see China wants Taiwan to benefit from the trade deal but whether this would happen depended on “the mainland’s attitude,” he said.
When asked about his thoughts on Wen’s description of Taiwan as “China’s brother,” Ma said people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have the same roots, so the description “was not wrong.”
“But in Taiwan, the relationship between the government and the mainland operates under the constitution of the Republic of China,” he said. “Like I always say, the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the Chinese nation.”
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