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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


English version of trade pact with China to be posted online
Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs decided Monday to make a virtue of necessity by granting a request by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party to make public the English version of Taiwan’s economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China.
Dancing Around the WTO
Whether possessing formal statehood or not, Taiwan like all other 152 members of the World Trade Organization has to elbow its way through foreign trade disputes. Sometimes it loses, sometimes it wins. But it has to abide by WTO regulations, one of which requires the reporting of trade agreements.
Taiwan government faces challenges after ECFA: scholars
The signing of a historic trade pact between Taiwan and China was just the start of a wide range of economic and political tasks for the Taiwanese government to overcome and cautiously review, scholars said.
ECFA must guarantee free-trade agreements
Two Chinese vice ministers of commerce, Gao Hucheng (高虎城) and Jiang Zengwei (姜增偉), have commented on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that was signed by Taiwan and China at the end of June.
Japan industries ’very interested in ECFA’: Yiin
Japanese industries are very interested in the recently signed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taiwan and China as a way to enter China.
Taiwan parliament warns over China trade pact
China may use a trade pact with Taiwan to push for its political goal of reunification, the island’s parliament warned in a report on Wednesday.
PCT pastors oppose ECFA for Aborigines’ and farmers’ sake
Opening the floodgates to Chinese products will lead to mass unemployment among Aborigines and pose great challenges to ordinary Taiwanese farmers as well, say Aborigine pastors in Taiwan.
DPP blasted for twisting president’s statements on ECFA
The Presidential Office accused the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of twisting President Ma Ying-jeou’s remarks and stressed that the president has never made the statement that lawmakers cannot review the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) that Taiwan just signed with China.
Lawmakers pessimistic over ECFA review
Taiwan’s opposition party the DPP is demanding that individual clauses of the ECFA be reviewed one by one at committee meetings where lawmakers could revise them.
Cabinet hopes ECFA can be passed by late August
Despite a partisan dispute over procedural issues, the Executive Yuan hopes that the legislature will pass the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China by late August to facilitate its implementation Jan. 1, 2011, an official said Saturday.