A cross-strait economic committee will not dictate the direction of cross-strait trade or political policy, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, although its formation and operations will not be subject to legislative oversight.
Council Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said the cross-strait economic cooperation committee would be an ad hoc body comprised of different members depending on the issues under negotiation. It will be formed after the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) comes into force later this month and its purpose is to handle negotiations, implementation, application and interpretation of the agreement or disputes resulting from it, he said.
“The committee cannot sign any cross-strait agreement because that is the job of the Straits Exchange Foundation [SEF] and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait [ARATS],” he said.
Article 11 of the ECFA stipulates that the two sides must establish a cross-strait economic cooperation committee, but the article lacks information on how the committee should be established, how many representatives each side could send and whether it would be subject to legislative review.
Opponents were concerned that as the commission’s position and authority were unclear, it could become a supra-governmental organization without public accountability.
Liu yesterday said the committee would not replace the SEF and the ARATS, the quasi-official bodies authorized by their respective governments to sign cross-strait agreements, which must be examined by the executive branch and supervised by the legislature.
Speaking in Shandong Province, China, on Wednesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi (王毅) said the two sides would begin negotiating four more agreements after the ECFA comes into force, covering traded goods, trade in services, investment protection and economic cooperation.
Wang said he hoped to see a committee with “distinctive cross-strait features” to handle subsequent negotiations. He said the committee must function under the principles of equality, friendly communications, seeking win-win scenarios and using open and transparent procedures.
He said he hoped both sides would fully discuss the composition of the committee and rules of procedure in the near future, adding that the body must be established and operate under the framework of the SEF and the ARATS. Since its purpose was to resolve practical matters, its members must be pragmatic, flexible and effective. They must also make constant improvement and innovations, he said.
Liu yesterday said the committee would take shape after both sides had completed preparations, which should occur soon.
Meanwhile, Liu dismissed speculation that high-level cross-strait talks scheduled for later this year would cover cultural issues.
He also denied that a visit by Chinese Minister of Culture Cai Wu (蔡武) had anything to do with a cultural agreement, adding that Cai was invited by a private organization to participate in culture-related activities and academic forums.
Cai arrived in Taiwan yesterday, becoming the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Taiwan in 12 years, officials said.
Cai is to attend a seminar in Taipei on Monday, according to the Shen Chun-chih Culture Foundation, a non-profit Taipei-based body focused on cultural exchanges with China and which invited Cai for the visit.
He could also meet Council for Cultural Affairs Minister Emile Sheng (盛治仁), organizers said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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