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ECFA could cause power shift: Tsai
CHANGE: The DPP chairperson said that the party’s China
policy in the future would be ‘more stable and consistent’ than that of former
president Chen Shui-bian
By Vincent Y. Chao
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Apr 30, 2010, Page 3
The government’s move to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA)
with China by June could lead to a power shift in the Asia-Pacific region from
the US to China, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told reporters from international media
outlets that she thought the agreement would increase Taiwan’s reliance on
China’s market at the expense of bilateral ties with other trading partners.
“The ECFA will bring us much closer to China, a trend that will be increasingly
difficult to reverse within the next few years,” Tsai said in English.
Tsai’s comments come after the televised ECFA debate with President Ma Ying-jeou
(馬英九) on Sunday, in which she raised concerns that the agreement could undermine
Taiwan’s sovereignty and increase economic dependence on China.
The DPP wants the government to hold a referendum on the pact, citing polls that
continue to show mixed support for it
In a television interview on Monday, Tsai vowed to hold an ECFA referendum if
the DPP regained power in 2012 and said the party would abide by the results,
even if it went against its interests.
Asked by the Taipei Times yesterday whether this meant the possibility of
re-opening negotiations with China, Tsai said that if required to do so, the DPP
would consider either unilaterally terminating the agreement or engaging in
further bilateral discussions. However, she said any move to do so could bring
legal complications.
The DPP chairperson also revealed that the party’s future China policy would be
“more stable and consistent” than that of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁),
whose cross-strait strategy often drew criticism.
Tsai said “next time we will be more experienced and capable of managing our
relationship with China,” and that cross-strait relations would become more
“predictable.”
Contrary to comments made by Ma on Wednesday, Tsai said she did not think an
ECFA was necessary for cross-strait stability. She said that if signed, it could
lead to an “irreversible trend” that would base Taiwan’s political decisions on
Chinese interests.
“The president argued that we cannot sign an FTA [free-trade agreement] with
[other countries] unless we sign the ECFA with China first,” Tsai said. “It
implies that their consent is required [and] we are concerned that this will
become a precedent.”
She also said that the more time elapses before signing other FTAs, the more
reliant Taiwan would become on China.
“The ECFA will lead [to] an increasing reliance on the Chinese market, which
will reduce trade with the rest of the world,” Tsai said, adding that this could
reduce support among Taiwan’s trading partners for an FTA, “a process that will
be very difficult to reverse within the next few years.”
Instead, she proposed that trade agreements with China take place within the WTO
framework.
Tsai said that as the WTO was based on “peace and stability,” the organization
would provide protection mechanisms for Taiwan to increase trade with China in a
politically neutral way.
“There’s no need to go beyond the WTO,” she said.
“We don’t have a problem with China leading the region, if China is a democracy
or a market economy,” Tsai said. “However, [China] is a threat to many countries
in this region.”
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