The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday assailed the government’s landmark trade deal with China, saying the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) would benefi the interests of larger corporations at the expense of small and medium-sized businesses.
“The [government] has only taken into account the needs of large corporations. It doesn’t care about the damage to small and medium-sized businesses, which will be unable to adapt [to an ECFA],” DPP ECFA response team spokesperson Julian Kuo (郭正亮) told a press conference yesterday.
The DPP also released a poll saying that up to 43 percent of the public believe that an ECFA would decrease personal incomes, against 26 percent who believed it would result in an increase.
The DPP poll said that 53 percent of respondents agreed that the nation’s unemployment problems would become worse following the signing of the agreement, compared with 38 percent who believed otherwise.
At the same time, 86 percent said they believed the income gap would grow if an ECFA were signed.
This shows Taiwan is not ready to accept the impact of the trade deal, the DPP said, adding that it should first be subject to a public referendum before coming into force.
Kuo also said that while cross-strait negotiators have said that up to 17 of Taiwan’s more fragile industries would not be included in the agreement, this could be revised as soon as six month after it is signed when the ECFA is reviewed.
“Even though they are not included in the early harvest list, China has made no promise that it won’t force Taiwan to open its market to goods from these 17 industries in the future,” Kuo said.
An ECFA is the first to step to an eventual “one China market” and the integration of the economies either side of the Taiwan Strait, he said, adding that it could lead to common taxation and financial policies in future.
Saying that the agreement was modeled on Hong Kong’s Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), Kuo added that the ECFA abandoned WTO practices as cross-strait trade disputes would be handled by a joint committee instead of the WTO.
DPP spokesperson Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said the publication of the early harvest list further showcased the legitimacy of the DPP’s protest rally against the ECFA to be held tomorrow in Taipei.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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