The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday unveiled plans to push for a referendum on the government’s proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, saying it was necessary to give the public a say on such an “important national policy.”
This will mark the second referendum drive after one last year conducted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was rebuffed by the Executive Yuan’s Referendum Review Committee despite having passed an initial Central Election Commission review.
The committee turned down the petition on the grounds that it was based on a hypothetical situation that did not meet the criteria set out in the Referendum Act (公投法).
TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) told a press conference that the committee’s decision was politically motivated.
“The fact that Penghu County was allowed to hold a referendum on building casinos — which also did not exist at the time — shows that the [committee’s] rejection of a ‘hypothetical scenario’ was just an excuse,” Huang said. “They cannot use this excuse this time as the government has showed that it was seriously considering [signing an ECFA].”
The party said its proposal would ask voters to choose whether they agreed that the government should sign any type of economic agreement with China as exemplified by “President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) ECFA proposal.”
The party hopes to complete the first phase, gathering 86,000 signatures, by May. The timing is important given that parts of an ECFA are likely to become a focus during the next round of cross-strait negotiations, which are expected to take place before June.
The government denies it has any firm timetable on the agreement. Nonetheless, TSU petition organizers said they hoped to present it to voters as soon as possible.
The move has also attracted support from the DPP.
DPP spokesman Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said the party fully supported the measure and hoped it could be presented to voters in a referendum.
However, he could not say if the DPP would consider co-sponsoring the petition, saying that the party had not been approached about the issue.
Meanwhile, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday reiterated his promise that the ECFA would be subjected to a legislative review before the agreement takes effect.
During a briefing at the legislature on the administration’s goals for the year, Wu said the government would aggressively pursue an ECFA this year, covering issues such as tariff breaks, protection of Taiwanese businesspeople in China and safeguarding copyrights.
Wu said the government was racing against time to sign the proposed agreement this year as failure to do so could result in “unfathomable consequences.”
He did not elaborate.
“If we sign it, we will be able to invest in markets such as China and ASEAN, increase our exports, attract foreign investment to Taiwan, increase job opportunities for local workers and improve the economy,” Wu said.
“It is the best policy for now,” he said.
The premier said he would refer the agreement to the legislature for review after the nation inks the pact with China, calling legislative oversight “unavoidable and a must.”
“The agreement will not take effect unless it clears the legislative floor,” he said.
Asked by DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) later yesterday whether he was in favor of establishing a legislative task force to supervise cross-strait affairs, the premier expressed reservations .
DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said the government should include an article in the proposed ECFA to ensure that China would not block Taiwan from signing free-trade agreements (FTA) with ASEAN members after the ECFA is signed.
“The article should stipulate that Taiwan would be able to sign an FTA with at least three ASEAN members within one year of signing the proposed ECFA ... if Taiwan does not succeed, the proposed ECFA would automatically be annulled,” Chai said.
But the premier said introducing such an article to the proposed agreement would be equivalent to admitting that China enjoys sovereignty over Taiwan.
Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) told Chai and Lee that the government was mulling introducing a mechanism that would allow either Taipei or Beijing to suspend the agreement, but details of the mechanism had not been finalized.
Meanwhile, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) told reporters at the legislature that the second round of preparatory talks on a proposed ECFA would take place in Taiwan next month.
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