China ECFA debate about more than economy: Taiwan white-collar alliance
Taiwan News 2010-04-18
China ECFA debate about more than economy: Taiwan white-collar alliance
Preparations on the way for April 25 debate and June 6 rallies
Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The April 25 televised debate about the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement project should discuss more than just the economy, an alliance of ECFA opponents said Sunday.
President Ma Ying-jeou and opposition Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen will debate the plans for the accord live on television, while the government still plans to sign the deal in June at the latest.
The debate should do more than just discuss economy and trade issues, but should also deal with the eventual impact of the agreement on politics, society and culture, the Taipei White-Collar Anti-ECFA Alliance said Sunday.
Group chairman Chou Ni-an told a news conference outside the Taipei Railway Station that so far exchanges about ECFA had only dealt with who would stand the most to lose and which sectors of the economy would receive benefits.
The complete trade opening which would follow the accord would also influence Taiwan’s democratic way of life, its public order and its common values, the group said, pointing out the totally different way of thinking compared to communist-dominated China.
The debate should be extended to give viewers opportunity to learn about how ECFA would change Taiwan, activists said. Ma and Tsai should talk about more than just tariffs and trade statistics, the alliance said, because those were not enough to save society.
As preparations for the debate entered their final week, the Presidential Office said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council would hand over documents about the ECFA project to DPP headquarters on Monday. The files contained public data, said presidential spokesman Lo Chih-chiang.
The DPP said it would be difficult to conduct a debate on an equal footing if the government did not inform it of all details. However, the Presidential Office refused to turn over information it said was still confidential because ECFA negotiations with China had not been completed yet.
Lo said he hoped the DPP would also send information about its own alternatives to ECFA to the Presidential Office to help Ma prepare the debate.
In addition to a debate, opposition groups are hoping to rally 1 million people islandwide for anti-ECFA protests on June 6, shortly before the accord is expected to be signed. Meanwhile, a campaign for an ECFA referendum is also continuing. The opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union hopes to be submitting the necessary signatures for the first phase of the process by the end of this month.
Commenting on reports that the ruling Kuomintang had dropped its opposition to an ECFA referendum, Premier Wu Den-yih said Sunday the government would never oppose a plebiscite if it corresponded to all relevant laws.
The Ma administration originally rejected calls for an ECFA vote because it said the agreement only affected trade issues. The opposition says ECFA will harm Taiwan’s sovereignty as well as its economy.
