The government will continue working toward the goal of signing a trade pact with China during the next round of high-level cross-strait talks to be held in the first half of this year in China, despite some uncertainty over that time frame, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said yesterday.
Shih said the two sides are trying to arrange formal negotiations on the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) through the Straits Exchange Foundation and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS).
The exact date would be known very soon, he said.
The government is hoping to sign the agreement during the fifth meeting between SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).
MORE TIME NEEDED?
However, the Chinese-language China Times on Wednesday quoted Chen as saying that it might be difficult to seal the ECFA in the fifth round of talks unless both sides make careful preparations over a long period of time.
He said the negotiations on ECFA issues would take time because of their complexity.
Bureau of Foreign Trade Director General Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬) said yesterday he had no indication from Beijing that signing an ECFA might be delayed and the two sides were preparing for the opening of formal ECFA negotiations later this month.
NO RUSH
Meanwhile, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Liang Kuo-hsin (梁國新) said that Chen’s comment should not be interpreted negatively, because he was only reminding the concerned parties to prepare properly for the negotiations.
The two sides will not rush to sign the pact, Liang said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) reaffirmed the administration’s plan to sign an ECFA with China in May.
COMPLICATED ISSUE
Deputy Council Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said that the planned pact was complicated and that was why both sides have made preparations before the negotiations, including individual research and joint studies.
Liu said both sides realized the complexity of the proposed accord, which is different from a free-trade agreement, so they would tackle it in a piecemeal manner, he said.
There would be an “early harvest measure” in place to benefit bilateral trade, he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KUO SHU-LING
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS