|
¡@
ECFA not a country-to-country agreement,
Ma says
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Aug 05, 2010, Page 3
President Ma Ying-jeou, right, receives a gift
from a visiting Japanese academic at the Presidential Office yesterday, when he
met academics from the University of Tokyo specializing in cross-strait affairs.
PHOTO: CNA
President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) yesterday said the Economic
Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) recently signed with Beijing was not an
international agreement because the relations between Taiwan and China are not
those of two countries.
¡§We do not recognize China as a state, so our relationship with each other is
not one of country-to-country,¡¨ he said.
¡§Cross-strait agreements are not international treaties signed between two
countries, but they are very similar,¡¨ Ma added.
Ma made the remarks while meeting Japanese academics specializing in
cross-strait affairs from the University of Tokyo at the Presidential Office
yesterday.
Ma said his administration signed the trade deal based on the needs of the
nation, public support and following legislative oversight.
On the legislative oversight, Ma said Premier Wu Den-yih (§d´°¸q) would report to
the legislature, which would review the agreement clause by clause.
The accord must be voted on in its entirety and the legislature could attach a
rider to the agreement if necessary, he added.
Once the agreement clears the legislature, Ma said it would come into effect
within six months, during which the two sides will begin negotiations on trade
in goods and services, investment protection and dispute settlement.
Ma said he expected future cross-strait negotiations to be more challenging and
that his administration would be under more pressure.
¡§This is just the beginning,¡¨ he said.
Facing Beijing¡¦s increasing pressure for military and political negotiations, Ma
said he would not negotiate unification with China during his presidency. Nor
would he pursue de jure independence or favor settling cross-strait disputes
through military means.
Ma said he understood the ECFA was no panacea and that there were risks
involved, but the government could minimize the risks and maximize
opportunities.
Amid opposition concerns that the administration has compromised Taiwan¡¦s
sovereignty during cross-strait negotiations, Ma said Taipei and Beijing have
signed 14 agreements and none of them indicated his administration made any
political trade-offs or promises.
¡@
|
