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Need to 'demystify' ECFA: Danish analyst
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Tuesday, Apr 06, 2010, Page 3
As Taipei and Beijing are negotiating an economic cooperation framework
agreement (ECFA), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) needs to reach out to the
opposition and the public before the trade deal is signed, said Michale
Danielsen, chairman of the Copenhagen-based Taiwan Corner.
Danielsen urged the KMT government to let Taiwanese hold a referendum on an ECFA
because it was ¡§a fundamental issue and you need to demystify it.¡¨
¡§Through a referendum, politicians will debate it and the people will be able to
see what the agreement is about,¡¨ the Danish political observer said in an
interview with the Taipei Times in Taipei last month. ¡§Maybe in the end they
will say, oh, this is not so bad.¡¨
If the people rejected the proposed pact then the government would need to go
back to the drawing board and negotiate a better deal, which in the long run
would benefit the country, he said.
He added that communication between different individuals and political parties
was important.
¡§Democracy starts with conversations,¡¨ he said. ¡§Conversations are not that you
try to persuade others, but a dialogue in which you try to understand what other
people are thinking about an issue. This kind of deeper discussion is lacking
among the ordinary citizen and political parties here.¡¨
Danielsen said his impression of the KMT was that it preferred to keep things in
line rather than engage with different political parties.
While it was widely known that China was the main obstacle to Taiwan's efforts
to sign free-trade agreements (FTA) with other countries, Danielsen said it was
discouraging to see that the KMT is reluctant to ask Beijing to back off.
¡§You can only hope that China would show the courtesy of allowing Taiwan to ink
FTA with other countries,¡¨ he said.
Aside from encouraging the KMT government to specify in the ECFA that China stop
its obstructionism, Danielsen urged other countries to tell Beijing to stop
interfering in Taiwan's affairs.
¡§I think it's about time for the world leaders to say to China that you have to
respect the international law and that you have to respect the agreement you
have signed as a full member of the WTO,¡¨ he said.
Danielsen said he agreed that only a few countries in the world had the courage
to stand up to China because they claimed they were being pragmatic. But to him,
those countries were ¡§irresponsibly pragmatic,¡¨ he said.
Compromise was not a bad thing, he said, but you can compromise only so many
times before you lose your own beliefs and values.
¡§I think Taiwan gives hope to the world because Taiwan is a prime example of how
economic power influence democratic values,¡¨ he said. ¡§There are so many
interesting things going on here and they have so much to offer to the world
that it's time to release this prisoner [Taiwan] and let it play fully in the
international arena.¡¨
The KMT focused too much on China and it could hurt Taiwan's economy if it was
not careful, Danielsen said.
¡§Taiwan's economy would be much better off if you cooperate with countries just
as mature as Taiwan,¡¨ he said. ¡§That includes the European Union, Japan and US.
Those are the partners that Taiwan should seek.¡¨
Taiwan and the EU would benefit from each other through closer cooperation, he
said, because the EU could help upgrade Taiwan's service industry and Taiwan
could help the EU with technology.
Danielsen said some might argue that the ECFA was too technical to understand,
but the public did understand the big picture and knew what was best for Taiwan.
Commenting on the KMT's recent election defeats, Danielsen said it might be a
good thing because it was healthier for Taiwan's democracy to have a stronger
opposition party.
It was crucial to have a strong opposition in Taiwan to keep the ruling party in
check, he said, adding that the same theory should apply to the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) if it was in power.
By the same token, President Ma Ying-jeou's (°¨^¤E) plunging popularity might not
be a bad thing because Ma may be more humble before the people, he said. ¡§More
humble behavior would benefit leaders. They need to listen and admit that they
are not perfect and make mistakes. That is what democracy is about. It's about
making mistakes, listening to people, going into dialogue with people and not
blaming other people but thinking about what I can do better.¡¨
Although he said it was a good thing for the DPP to focus on national identity,
the party must also court political moderates and develop a broader platform of
issues in addition to sovereignty.
¡§Of course, I personally support the direction of Taiwan independence, but it
should be the Taiwanese people who decide their own future,¡¨ he said. ¡§You
cannot decide that now ... It's time for considering what is best for Taiwan.¡¨
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