An academic yesterday described a controversial proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China as a buffer that would protect industries vulnerable in an open market and said Taiwan’s only choice was to fully open its markets.
Facing economic integration among countries in the region, Taiwan has only one way out and that is to fully open its markets and seek liberalization, Thomas Lee (李桐豪), a professor of finance at National Chengchi University (NCCU), told a conference in Taipei weighing the pros and cons of signing an ECFA.
Lee, a former People First Party legislator, said that since 1620, trade has played a vital role in Taiwan’s development and that an ECFA was vital to ensure the survival of Taiwanese.
The most important trade activities in Asia over the past decade, he said, were the signing of free-trade agreements (FTA).
WTO statistics show that 276 agreements related to free trade have been finalized globally, he said, adding that 33 more are either under negotiation or have been announced.
Asian Development Bank statistics show there are 192 FTAs in Asia, he said.
“Unfortunately, Taiwan is not involved in any of them,” he said, adding that this contributed to the threat of marginalization.
The only problem involving an ECFA is whether the government can protect industries that would be harmed when the country’s market is opened to foreign competitors, he said.
“The government must enhance its ability to handle the consequences of signing an ECFA, such as unemployment and a widening gap between rich and poor,” he said.
Hsu Chung-hsin (�?H), a law professor at NCCU, said that according to WTO rules, 10 years after signing an ECFA, Taiwan would be forced to expand free trade with China to cover between 90 percent and 95 percent of trade in goods and services.
“The government has been saying it will not further open the country to Chinese agricultural products, but all 271 free-trade agreements and regional trade agreements registered at the WTO include agricultural products,” Hsu said.
Hsu said the government would be unable to turn the country into a financial hub in the Asia Pacific region unless it signed free-trade agreements with the EU, the US, and Japan in addition to an ECFA with China.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS