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
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all