President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) should be treated as a treaty undergoing legislative deliberation, and therefore should take effect after advancing to the second reading.
The ECFA, although not a treaty in nature because the Republic of China Constitution does not acknowledge China as a country, could be handled as a treaty when proceeding to the legislature for deliberation, Ma said, adding that it would not be necessary for the pact to pass a third reading in the legislature because it is neither a budget bill nor a law.
Ma also said he opposed the legislature’s deliberation of every clause in the ECFA, saying that reviewing the ECFA article by article would set a bad example.
“When we joined the WTO in 2002, the legislature discussed the general treaty, rather than reviewing every clause. You can either approve or oppose the whole treaty, but should not make changes to the clauses. It would set a very bad example; no country would want to sign economic agreements with us [after that],” Ma, in his capacity as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman, said at KMT headquarters.
The KMT yesterday instructed the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and other government agencies to provide reports on the benefits of the ECFA and post-ECFA plans.
MAC Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) said that the government had defended the national interest in signing the ECFA with China, pointing to the inclusion of a clause authorizing either party to terminate the pact.
However, the clause does not stipulate on what grounds a suspension may be proposed.
Ma lauded the MAC and other government bodies for their hard work in negotiating and signing the ECFA with China, while dismissing fears by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that the ECFA could bring about a “one China market.”
“We and mainland China do not have the same tariffs, and so there’s no such thing as a ‘one China market’ ... The DPP’s criticism of the time and location where the ECFA was signed is also meaningless,” he said.
In his capacity as president, Ma will hold a press conference today with local and international news agencies to announce the government’s economic strategies in the post-ECFA era.
TAIWAN PROTECTION MEASURE: US Army General Charles Flynn would not say where in the Asia-Pacific the missiles would be sent, but only that they would arrive in 2024 The US is to send medium-range missiles including the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk to the Asia-Pacific next year to deter a Chinese attack on Taiwan, US military news Web site Defense One reported. The report cited comments US Army General Charles Flynn made during the annual Halifax International Security Forum on Nov. 19. “We have tested them and we have a battery or two of them today,” Flynn was quoted as saying. “In [20]24. We intend to deploy that system in your region. I’m not going to say where and when. But I will just say that we will
UNUSUAL UPTICK: There are more flu-like illnesses in northern China than in the past 3 years, but data from Beijing showed that known pathogens are responsible Responding to an uptick in respiratory illnesses in China, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it has instructed international airport and port quarantine centers to raise their alert levels, and plans to issue an alert to healthcare practitioners. The number of flu-like illnesses reported in northern China has been increasing for five consecutive weeks, and is higher than the same period in the past three years, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said. “According to the WHO’s latest statement, issued yesterday, information provided by Chinese government showed that the illnesses were mainly reported among children, and the illnesses were attributed
LOYALTY: The 10 active and retired soldiers betrayed the nation and its people by leaking and passing on military secrets to China, the High Prosecutors’ Office said Ten former and current military officers were yesterday indicted on charges of spying for China, including two who allegedly filmed themselves pledging loyalty to Beijing. The High Prosecutors’ Office requested life imprisonment for the suspects in light of the severity of the crime. The 10 active-duty and retired officers included members of the 601st Brigade of the Aviation Special Forces comprising attack helicopter squadrons and elite combat units in charge of defending northern Taiwan, including Taipei. The other suspects came from Huadong Defense Command, in charge of defending the eastern coast; Kinmen Defense Command, in charge of defending Kinmen and Matsu; and one
LOCAL INDUSTRY SAFE: Despite global expansion plans, 90% of Taiwanese IC suppliers’ production would stay in Taiwan, the National Development Council minister said Taiwan’s semiconductor firms are expected to invest US$210 billion over the next five years to cement the country’s lead over its peers in the global IC market, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said on Friday. Digital transformation in the high-tech sector had become an irreversible international trend, Kung told an investment forum on business start-ups. The government would continue to encourage the local semiconductor industry to invest by providing incentives under the Statute for Industrial Innovation (產業創新條例), Kung said. Taiwanese semiconductor firms are expected to move their investments out of the China due to a restructuring of global supply chains amid