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DPP motion for PRC vow not to block FTAs
rejected
'SHUT UP': A legislative meeting in which every DPP motion
on a proposed trade agreement with China was disregarded led to irritation with
MAC chief Lai Shin-yuan
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Apr 09, 2010, Page 1
A legislative committee yesterday voted down a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
motion to include a clause in a proposed economic cooperation framework
agreement (ECFA) with China that Beijing promises not to block Taipei from
signing free-trade agreements (FTA) with other countries.
The government hopes to sign the controversial trade pact with China next month
or in June. The two sides concluded the second round of negotiations in Taoyuan
last week.
Capitalizing on their numerical advantage, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
members of the legislature's Internal Administration Committee voted four to two
against the DPP proposal demanding that the government drop plans to ink an ECFA
if Beijing refused to promise in writing not to obstruct other countries from
signing FTAs with Taiwan.
KMT members also struck down a DPP motion asking the Mainland Affairs Council
(MAC) and other government agencies to provide the draft content of the
agreement and a draft of “early harvest” items for legislative oversight. The
drafts would help industries and workers hit by the trade deal make early
preparations for any negative impact, the DPP said.
The committee also vetoed a proposal that the formal English translation of the
pact, if signed, would use the word “agreement” — and not “arrangement,” as in
the economic accord signed between China and Hong Kong.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), who chaired yesterday’s committee meeting,
ruled against a DPP request to postpone the meeting until the MAC and other
government agencies provided the committee with detailed information such as the
content of the agreement, the “early harvest” list and an ECFA assessment
report.
DPP legislators offered to hold a closed-door meeting if the council could not
make the list public. Wu turned down the proposal.
The meeting got off to a rough start when DPP lawmakers refused to hear reports
by MAC Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) and other officials, saying the reports
were merely a “journal account” of the two-day negotiations in Taoyuan and did
not contain anything substantial.
The question-and-answer session did not begin until 80 minutes into the meeting.
Lai irked many DPP lawmakers by interrupting their questions or refusing to stop
talking. At one point, DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) pounded the table and
told Lai to “shut up.”
Chiu also accused Lai of lying about the negative impact the trade deal might
have on white-collar workers.
“You describe the concerns as ‘crying wolf,’ but you probably don’t know how the
fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf ends,” she said. “In the end, the wolf does come.”
Lai turned down the proposal that China should promise not to block Taiwan from
signing FTAs with other countries, saying Taiwan does not need China’s approval
to sign trade deals with other countries.
An ECFA is “purely” an economic issue, not political, Lai said.
While both sides are still negotiating the deal, Lai said it was normal to
include a “termination clause” in an ECFA.
She also dismissed DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen's (陳明文) comparison of her
council to the KMT’s public relations office, saying that her comments on the
ECFA were “the truth,” not “propaganda.”
On early harvest items, Lai said the two sides did not exchange lists during the
recent negotiations.
Bureau of Foreign Trade Director-General Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬) added that while
flat display panels would be included in Taiwan’s list, they would be a “second
priority,” without elaborating.
Meanwhile, DPP legislators William Lai (賴清德) and Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) alleged that
the council paid local magazine The Journalist NT$90,000 (US$2.850) for an
advertisement promoting the ECFA.
Lai Shin-yuan said she would shoulder any responsibility, including stepping
down, if it were proven that the two-page article was an advertisement and that
the council spent money on it.
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