Eight local governments under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) signed a pledge yesterday to refuse to cooperate with the central government’s call to promote an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA).
“A proposed Taiwan-China economic cooperation framework agreement is a significant matter and should be decided by Taiwanese,” Chiayi County Commissioner Chang Hwa-kuan (張花冠) said at a news conference.
Chang also displayed a statement signed by Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興), Pingtung County Commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻), Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (?]), Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) and Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢).
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
“Until the government comes up with a good explanation of the pros and cons of the pact, we refuse to serve as messengers for the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九),” Chang said, adding that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government has not fully disclosed all of the relevant information.
Chang said the central government has only bothered to discuss the good side of the pact, but it has not told the public about the disadvantages.
She also said that the Ma administration is damaging Taiwan’s democracy and economy by pushing the trade deal through without the people’s consent.
Meanwhile, at a separate setting yesterday, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) called on the Ma administration not to keep China’s “early harvest” list from the public.
The early harvest list refers to a list of goods and services that will be subject to immediate tariff concessions or exemptions, which are expected to form the backbone of the proposed deal.
The TSU has previously cited internal government reports as saying that China’s early harvest list concentrated on financial, communications, technology and media sectors. If passed, it could dramatically increase Chinese investment in these sensitive industries, the TSU said.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
RSS