Pro-independence organizations vowed yesterday to launch a long-term campaign against the government’s plan to sign a trade agreement with China and promised to take part in an anti-ECFA rally on June 26.
Officials and representatives from at least eight groups held a joint press conference in Taipei, chanting that they were against “secret negotiations between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and China that sell out a democratic Taiwan.”
Their call came amid increasing speculation that a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) could be signed within the next two weeks.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
In its strongest signal to date, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said on Sunday that talks on the trade pact, which include tariff reduction clauses and greater cooperation on cross-strait financial measures, should be seen as “a done deal.”
Speaking out strongly against the move, Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), secretary-general of the Taiwan Society and a professor of political science at Soochow University, said the government had yet to reveal the full content of the tightly guarded agreement.
“Although we are getting close to the signing date, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration still refuses to publicize the details of an ECFA,” Lo said.
Citing a lack of transparency, opposition parties, including the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), have called for a public vote on the agreement — a move twice rejected by the Referendum Review Committee.
Speaking alongside the pro-independence groups yesterday, DPP Deputy Secretary-General Kao Chien-chih (高建智) said the party’s opposition to an ECFA was based on concerns that it would increase Taiwan’s economic dependence on China.
“Ma’s intent to sign an ECFA is against Taiwan’s sovereignty and the people’s interests. An ECFA could lead to a ‘one China’ market — which we are strongly against,” he said.
Speaking for all the organizations gathered yesterday, Taiwan Rescue Action Alliance chief Lin Yi-cheng (林宜正) said they would try to sway voters ahead of November’s special municipality elections to vote against candidates who support an ECFA.
“We are getting ready to fight a protracted battle,” he said, pledging to gather up to 1 million votes aided via the Internet in an attempt to actively dissuade local politicians from supporting an ECFA.
Billy Pan (潘建志), head of the Taiwan Blog Association, promised to support the measure, saying the organization would encourage netizens to step up their opposition to an ECFA.
Pro-independence organizations also floated the possibility of encircling the legislature while it reviewed the agreement after negotiations close later this month. Government officials have said that an ECFA would be sent to the legislature for final approval before coming into effect.
The groups also said they would be gearing up for more protests in the future.
“Everything we are doing … only represents the start. It is not the conclusion of our opposition against an ECFA,” Lo said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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