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China-Taiwan

In early 2009, the Ma administration in Taipei and the Chinese government in Beijing began seriously discussing the possibility of signing a free trade agreement between the two. The stakes are quite large and so is the controversy around any such deal. Ever since 1949, when nationalists fled the mainland, China considers Taiwan a breakaway province that should fall under Beijing’s rule. Taiwan, on the other hand, has been trying to build and maintain its autonomy as a sovereign democratic state. Military tensions have surrounded this antagonistic relationship for 60 years, while China has been quite successful in asserting its "one China" policy among the world’s governments and alienating Taiwan diplomatically.

The new urge to sign an FTA comes after the nationalists lost power in Taiwan’s 2008 elections. China is, in fact, Taiwan’s top trading partner. Taiwanese businesses have built up strong investments in the mainland and the island’s political leadership is particularly concerned about losing economic strength in Asia once the China-ASEAN FTA starts coming into force in 2010.

The big question is whether a China-Taiwan FTA would trigger the start of Taiwan’s transition toward effective economic and political control by Beijing ("reunification"). In this regard, people have even been fighting over the possible name of the FTA. Taiwanese opposition forces insist that it should not be called a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, as originally proposed, because that is what China’s FTAs with Macao and Hong Kong are called. (Therefore, calling it a CEPA would insinuate that Taiwan has the same political status as these two special administrative regions of China.)

In June 2010, the governments of China and Taiwan signed an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) which took effect in September 2010. The two governments intend to complete negotiations under this agreement by 2014. There have been major protests and much criticism of the deal in Taiwan.

last update: May 2012
Photo: WaDaNaBe / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0


Taiwanese ire at looming free trade with China
Thousands of protesters have swarmed the streets of the central Taiwanese town of Taichung, promoting resistance against pending trade relations with China.
Taiwan’s opposition may besiege Presidential Office to protest talks
Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party is planning to muster 100,000 people to take part in a march on Dec. 20 in the central city to voice the party’s opposition to the proposed cross-strait trade agreement, known as an economic cooperation framework agreement.
Taiwan fears China trade deal could cost jobs
Unions in Taiwan say they fear there could be huge job losses if a proposed free trade agreement is signed with mainland China. Talks on the deal are scheduled for next week between senior officials from Beijing and Taipei.
Taiwan won’t let China acquire local financial firms
Taiwan won’t allow Chinese banks to acquire local financial institutions when it signs an economic cooperation agreement with the mainland, Premier Wu Den-yih said.
European trade group urges Taiwan to sign trade deals with China
Pellegrin argued that the sooner Taiwan signs an ECFA with China, the quicker political impediments to other countries, including the EU, signing economic agreements with Taiwan will be removed.
China-Taiwan trade overtures questioned
As China and Taiwan inch towards a free trade agreement, questions are being raised about how much of a role politics will play in the deal.
ECFA won’t bring laborers: premier
Premier Wu Den-yih said yesterday that the government would not open the Taiwanese market further to Chinese agricultural products and would not allow the entry of Chinese laborers under the proposed cross-straits FTA, while avoiding questions about how long the bans would be in place.
Taiwan hopes to sign cross-strait trade pact as soon as possible
Taiwan hopes to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), similar to a free trade agreement, with China as soon as possible: next year, if not earlier.
FTA talk is no paradigm shift
A subtle change in attitude by the Ministry of Economic Affairs last week over the speed with which the government has sought to sign an economic pact with China highlights the fact that the public retain the right to change government policy priorities — a reality that Typhoon Morakot brought to light.
Fear in Taiwan as trade pact with China looms
Jimmy Wang’s tiles can compete with the best brands of Europe, but that is of little use to the Taiwanese manufacturer since the most lethal challenge he faces comes from China.