Signing a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) with Beijing would create a “one China” market and lead to de jure unification with China, an economic expert attending a cross-strait forum said yesterday.
National Taiwan University economics professor Kenneth Lin (林向愷) said that the nation’s sovereignty would be under threat if it did not maintain its free choice on survival and development.
“Signing a CECA deserves the attention of all Taiwanese because once it is signed it will complete the framework of the ‘one China’ market,” Lin said. “Then both sides can sign a peace agreement to end the civil war and complete de jure unification with China.”
Lin made the remarks during a forum held by Taiwan Advocates to discuss cross-strait relations. The forum was also organized to promote the organization’s new book, One China: A Dangerous Sham.
Lin said the “one China” market concept was dangerous because it would mean Taiwan would depend on China for its survival and Beijing would become the nation’s only hope. Comparing Taiwan and Hong Kong, Lin said the nation’s situation was similar to that of Hong Kong in the 1980s when the former British colony’s industries relocated to China because of lower costs and cheaper labor.
To salvage Hong Kong’s soaring unemployment rate, China signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with the territory in 2003, Lin said, with the aim of removing any imbalance between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta area.
“It is like injecting morphine,” Lin said. “It may resolve the problem for now, but it is addictive.”
Unlike Hong Kong, Taiwan is a sovereign state, Lin said, and all national leaders must seriously consider how to protect what the nation already has.
“Taiwan must not depend on China’s mercy,” Lin said. “It is very dangerous to let your enemy decide your fate.”
While President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has defended himself against criticism that he has sold out the nation, Lin said Ma has been doing exactly that since he took office in May, adding that it explained why many international economic research institutes had adjusted that nation’s growth rate down this year.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research arm of The Economist, for example, has revised its forecast from 1.3 percent to minus 2.9 percent, predicting the nation will be among the worst performers in the region this year.
The unemployment rate has also hit a three-year high and consumer confidence has dropped to the lowest level on record. The EIU also predicted that the government’s stimulus measures were unlikely to have a big impact on the economy.
Michael Hsiao (蕭新煌), executive director of Academia Sinica’s Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies, said while the Presidential Office interpreted Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) “six points” remarks as a goodwill gesture, they were actually a trap.
Hsiao said Ma should have been aware of the decline in China’s economy, but his mindset was in line with that of Beijing and he is determined to pursue “one China,” which is against the wishes of the majority of Taiwanese.
Lin Cheng-yi (林正義), a researcher at the Institute of European and American Studies at Academia Sinica, said while he welcomed the nation’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May, he said he hoped it would be made permanent and that the nation could become an observer.
Lin Cheng-yi, however, urged the government to make the negotiation process with Beijing transparent, saying that the nation’s participation at the WHA should not be treated as an isolated case.
He said Hu had become more confident since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took office in May. During the previous Democratic Progressive Party administration, Beijing asked Washington to co-manage issues in the Taiwan Strait, but now Hu considers it a domestic affair and is prohibiting other countries from interfering.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS