Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday said he would step down if an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) the government plans to sign with Beijing includes the word “unification.”
Wu also said he believed a scenario in which the two sides of the Strait sign an ECFA based on the premise of “unification” would not take place.
Wu made the comments during the question-and-answer session on the legislative floor in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安).
Pan asked Wu to comment on remarks made by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) at the opening of the annual session of China’s National People’s Congress.
In his address, Wen called for completion of the trade agreement, which he said would be mutually beneficial. Wen said the Chinese government would continue developing cross-strait relations to realize the ultimate goal of peaceful national unification and that striking an ECFA deal with Taiwan was a priority.
Wu yesterday said cross-strait relations should adhere to the road of “peaceful development,” but added that “it is impossible” to connect the ECFA to “unification.”
“That won’t happen,” Wu said.
When asked how the government would react if Beijing proposed unification during the negotiations, Wu said that “the other side of the Strait could express its wish, but we will stick to our position. They are two different things.”
The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) hopes to have the trade pact signed in the fifth round of talks between Taiwan and China, planned to be held later this year.
Last week, Wu said Taiwan would “drown” if it failed to sign the pact amid formidable competition from rivals in the region, but critics said it would make Taiwan too economically dependent on China and that the agreement would jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty.
In an effort to drum up public support for the trade pact, the government has mobilized officials at various levels to strengthen communication with grassroots leaders and local communities.
As part of the government’s efforts to explain the policy to the public, Ma yesterday evening held a grassroots forum in Taipei that was to be the first in a series.
In addition to explaining the meaning and benefits of the ECFA, the Mainland Affairs Council’s ECFA promoters will also introduce complementary measures that the government will take to offset any potential adverse impact of the agreement, the council said.
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