Thu, May 20, 2010 page3

• MA: TWO YEARS IN OFFICE: Ma denies political game behind ECFA

  DON’T BLAME ME Asked to comment on the recent downgrading of Taiwan’s freedom of the press, the president said the blame lies with the media industry

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the administration’s plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with Beijing next month remained unchanged, but denied that the trade pact was a means to meet a political agenda.

  Ma said he believed the agreement would help the two sides develop closer trade ties and thereby ease tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

  “It is an economic accord after all ... I believe both sides see it from an economic perspective. My theory is that if our relationship with the mainland remains sound, the likelihood of war in the Taiwan Strait is small because the price we would have to pay would be high,” he said.

  Ma said the proposed deal would be signed in a piecemeal fashion, with tariff reductions or exemptions and protection of intellectual property rights preceding investment guarantees.

  “Signing the framework agreement is just the beginning ... It will take several years to complete,” he said.

  Ma said that while the government’s cross-strait policy would proceed only gradually so that “inexplicable” public fear would be mitigated, the policy was the right way to go and he would not waver.

  Ma made the remarks during a press conference at the Presidential Office yesterday morning, one day before the second anniversary of his inauguration.

  Acknowledging widespread public concern about his policies, Ma said he did not rule out a dialogue with opposition parties about major government policies because he believed mutual tolerance was imperative to democratic politics.

  Ma said his administration never overlooked the military threat posed by China.

  “But we cannot shut them out and lose our competitiveness simply because they have missiles targeted at us,” he said.

  Once Taipei and Beijing sign the trade deal, Ma said he would immediately establish a Cabinet-level task force to negotiate free-trade agreements (FTA) with other countries and take over as chairperson of the task force.

  Negotiations would start with major trading partners, but targeted countries would be prioritized, starting with the easier and necessary ones, he said.

  Ma said that since Washington requires the authorization of Congress for an FTA before it can ­become law, his administration would seek to sign a trade and investment framework agreement with it rather than an FTA.

  Such an agreement would be signed in a modular manner, namely dealing with different trades issues through separate agreements.

  On his leadership, Ma said that many people criticized him for being “too weak” or “incompetent,” but strong leadership is all about doing what can and must be done.

  “Maybe it was because I did not advertise hard enough,” he said.

  Responding to Taiwan’s fall in the annual Freedom House ranking of global press freedom, Ma said it had nothing to do with the administration but rather reflected the failings of the media industry itself.

  He said the government never interfered or suppressed media operations and would never do so.

  Ma attributed public displeasure with his performance and that of his administration to the lack of employment opportunities.

  Looking at manners in which his administration could improve its performance, Ma said government agencies needed to work closer and make more effort to promote government policies because it is always more efficient to prevent a crisis from happening than struggling to manage it once it happens.

  “We are fully confident about the future,” he said.
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