Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) yesterday said the chances that a review committee that has already rejected proposals for a referendum on a controversial trade pact with China would treat a fourth and final bid on the matter any differently were very slim.
Speaking outside a hearing held to determine the legality of his latest proposal to turn the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) over to a public vote, Huang said the committee would likely turn it down when it reviews it tomorrow, despite the fact that referendums are a “basic right.”
“I think our proposal is about to be struck down,” Huang told reporters after announcing he would boycott the hearing. “The reason we continue to bring about these referendum bids is because we believe it to be a basic right of Taiwanese.”
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
During the current hearings — the third held in the past eight months — senior officials at the Ministry of Finance and the Mainland Affairs Council voiced their opposition to a referendum, saying it was unnecessary as opinion polls showed the trade pact, which lowers tariffs on hundreds of goods across the Taiwan Strait, was well received by the public. The ECFA came into force in September, while the “early harvest” list of items receiving preferential tariff treatment took effect on Saturday.
Signed in June, the ECFA was initially opposed by both the TSU and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), although the DPP later softened its position. Critics claim the agreement will cost Taiwanese jobs and erode the nation’s sovereignty as a result of increasing dependency on China.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Francis Liang (梁國新) told the hearing that rather than isolate Taiwan, the ECFA had boosted its global competitiveness, while Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chao Chien-min (趙建民) said the agreement was “well--monitored” by the legislature.
“The government doesn’t support a referendum over the ECFA … it’s unnecessary,” Chao said.
The referendum review -committee previously rejected all three prior proposals — two by the TSU and another by the DPP — saying there were contradictions within the question and wording of the proposal. The TSU question would ask voters whether they agreed that the government should have signed the ECFA with China.
Organizers have called the committee’s actions “undemocratic” and the TSU has issued a court challenge over the second decision made in June. Each of the proposals had included about 100,000 signed petition forms, more than the number required by law, which organizers said reflected popular opinion.
Huang said that if the proposal were rejected tomorrow, his party would be unlikely to file any more referendum proposals and instead seek to overturn earlier decisions through administrative appeals.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS