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Protesters brave storms to rally against
ECFA
NO FREE LUNCH: Protesters said the economic pact with China to be signed on
Tuesday threatened Taiwan’s hard-won democracy and would not benefit average
citizens
By Vincent Y. Chao and Rich Chang
STAFF REPORTERS
Sunday, Jun 27, 2010, Page 1
Tens of thousands of people stage a protest in
Taipei yesterday against the economic cooperation framework agreement to be
signed with China.
PHOTO: PATRICK LIN, AFP
Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in downtown Taipei City yesterday,
braving heavy rain as they voiced displeasure with the government’s plan to sign
a controversial trade deal with China on Tuesday.
Shouting slogans such as “Say no to unification, say no to China,” and “Put the
interests of the people first,” the protesters called for a referendum on the
trade pact, saying Taiwanese have a right to express their views before it takes
effect.
As they marched down some of Taipei’s main thoroughfares, some protesters held
signs that read, “It’s a shame to embrace communist China” and “Protect Taiwan,
protect our jobs,” while others featured creative homemade props expressing
their dissatisfaction with the government.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration maintains that an ECFA will
benefit Taiwan’s export-based economy by giving preferential tariff reductions
to a number of Taiwanese goods to enter the Chinese market. Taiwan and China are
slated to sign the agreement on Tuesday, with Deputy Chairman of China’s
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中) saying in
Taipei on Thursday that the “two sides are one family.”
A protester holds a placard reading “stop
embracing the enemy” along with a digitally manipulated photo of Taiwan’s
President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese President Hu Jintao during a protest in
Taipei yesterday against a major trade deal to be signed in the coming days with
China.
PHOTO: PATRICK LIN, AFP
However, opponents say the accord will increase China’s influence over Taiwan,
and will be tantamount to a first step toward unification.
“There is no free lunch in this world,” said Andrew Chen, a businessman in
Taipei, while brandishing a World Cup-style South African vuvuzela trumpet in
his hands. “I think Taiwan is getting too close to China and we need to be on
our guard.”
Pet dogs join their owner at an anti-ECFA
protest march in Taipei yesterday.
PHOTO: CNA
Jason Ho, a graduate student, said that Ma’s administration should not have
signed the deal without the people’s consent.
“The public doesn’t even know what is in an ECFA, but it’s already a done deal.
This is very upsetting,” Ho said.
Chang Chi-fang (張啟方), 51, from Pingtung County said he farmed grouper fish.
“Even though groupers are on the early harvest list and I might be able to
export my products to China, it won’t be long before the cultivation technology
I use is stolen by China. We will all suffer,” he said.
A rubber factory worker surnamed Chang (張) from Changhua County said the trade
pact would turn Taiwan into another Chinese territory like Hong Kong.
“Taiwanese have worked so hard to achieve the democracy we have today and we
will not allow China to control us,” he said.
Farmer Wu Hsien-che dismissed China’s acceptance of tariff-free imports of some
Taiwanese farm products as “sugarcoated poison.”
Among the crowd was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Chthonic, Freddy
Lim (林昶佐). He said he did not oppose exchanges between China and Taiwan, but he
“strongly opposes signing an economic pact that would profit big business, but
be hard on ordinary people.”
“In fact, today [yesterday] is international anti-political prisoner day,” he
said. “The UN and many countries have spoken out against political persecution
today. China is notorious for its political persecution, but the Ma government
said nothing about it today. The Ma government should not negotiate economics
with China and give up our democratic values.”
Yesterday’s demonstration, organized by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP),
began at two separate locations in the city at 4pm. DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen
(蔡英文), who is also running for Sinbei City mayor, former president Lee Teng-hui
(李登輝) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) led a procession from Wanhua Station,
while former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), former presidential advisor Koo
Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) and the DPP’s contender for Taipei mayor, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌),
led thousands from Ding-Hao plaza.
Meanwhile, walking in pairs and followed by dozens of taxis while singing songs
and shouting slogans, a group of pro-independence advocates yesterday staged
their own march against the ECFA.
Although the hundreds of people mobilized by the Alliance of Referendum for
Taiwan and the Association for Taiwan Independence joined the two routes
arranged by the DPP-hosted rally, they marched separately.
“The [signing of an] ECFA is a serious issue, but there are too many candidates
[for the year-end special municipalities elections] trying to promote themselves
on the two official routes, making the rally more like an election campaign
activity,” said Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴), founder of the Alliance of Referendum for
Taiwan. “We are here to stand for the common public who are against an ECFA.”
The third route organized by the group was headed by 92-year-old founder of the
Association for Taiwan Independence Su Beng (史明), who once fought side-by-side
with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) army in the 1940s against the Chinese
Nationalist Party (KMT) in China, but left China years later after witnessing
the bloody and authoritarian rule of the CCP.
“You can never trust the CCP, they always try to give you something good to get
you into a trap, and then catch you at once when you’re in it — I know it very
well, I’ve worked with them,” he said. “Right now, they’re giving Taiwan some
economic benefits, but what they really aim for is political takeover. If you
don’t believe it, you can wait and see.”
Both DPP-led marches later converged on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the
Presidential Office at 5pm, where tens of thousands of people roared slogans
including, “Say no to a ‘one China market,’” and “We want a referendum on an
ECFA.”
Lee called on voters to reject the Ma administration’s China-leaning policies by
voting for DPP candidates in the year-end special municipality elections.
“The Ma administration is pushing for an ECFA even though it goes against the
interests of the Taiwanese public,” he said.
“Let’s see victories in all five of the cities [due for election in November].
We must throw Ma out to protect Taiwan,” he said, adding that he believed “Ma
lacked the balls” to guard Taiwanese interests.
Saying that Taiwan is a democratic society, Tsai added that an important policy
like an ECFA should be decided on through a public referendum.
She pledged to side with the middle class and smaller sized businesses, which
would be potentially hurt by the trade pact.
“Once an ECFA is signed, these businesses could disappear — impacting jobs and
breaking down communities that rely on them,” she told the crowd, many of whom
were from southern Taiwan.
She also vowed that her party would not give up its opposition toward the trade
agreement.
Joining her were representatives from labor and farming organizations, who also
voiced their opposition to an ECFA, alleging that the benefits would be
concentrated within a few large corporations, while Taiwan’s income disparity
gap would continue to grow.
Despite the pouring rain, organizers said they still believed up to 100,000
managed to take part in the event, although a significant number of participants
were seen leaving the scene after a thunderstorm began at about 5pm, as many of
them needed to take buses back to southern Taiwan.
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