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Students hold nationwide debate on ECFA
NEW VOICES: In the second student debate organized by Northern Taiwan
Society, participants shared their fears about the agreement’s impact on jobs
and salaries
By Vincent Y. Chao
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, May 31, 2010, Page 3
The debate over a controversial trade pact Taipei intends to
sign with China entered the classroom yesterday, as students from nine
universities met to debate whether the government should move to sign the
agreement.
The event, held at National Taiwan University (NTU) by the pro-independence
Taiwan Society North, saw students raise concerns that an economic cooperation
framework agreement (ECFA) with China could have a negative impact on their
future career prospects and more fragile Taiwanese industries.
A debate team led by Lin Yu-lun (林于倫), a student of Chinese literature at NTU,
said the issue was polarized because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
government had yet to fully reveal the details on an ECFA and how it would
affect Taiwan’s economy.
Other students — the vast majority of whom opposed an ECFA — called on more
people to rally in support of a referendum on the agreement, saying the public
deserved a say on what they said was an important instrument of national policy.
A student from the Minghsin University of Science and Technology said that as
“[an ECFA] will not benefit the public and instead could harm Taiwanese
[interests], people should take to the streets in support of a referendum.”
DELEGATIONS
The more than a dozen university delegates included representatives from as far
away as Kaohsiung, with students from the Kaohsiung Medical University and I-Shou
University.
A number of high school students and university alumni associations were also in
the audience.
This was the second student debate organized by the Taiwan Society North on an
ECFA, which it opposes on the grounds that an influx of cheaper competing goods
from China would have an adverse effect on Taiwanese jobs and salaries.
The organization has also raised concerns that the agreement could increase
Taiwan’s economic dependence on China, which it maintains could have dangerous
political side effects.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) have called the
agreement “essential,” saying it would boost Taiwan’s economic growth, create
jobs and increase the likelihood of Taiwan signing free-trade agreements with
other trade partners.
FOREIGN VIEWS
The topic of whether Taiwan should sign an ECFA with China also attracted the
interest of foreign students studying in Taiwan, who took part in a separate
event that began on Saturday.
A team made up of four students from NTU’s International Chinese Language
Program has signed up for a three-day debate among political science majors from
universities nationwide.
The inter-school debate is usually held annually.
National Chengchi University (NCCU) is the organizer of this year’s debate, in
which teams will argue on whether Taiwan should sign a trade pact with China.
Asked why he signed up for the activity, Jeffrey Hartsough of the US said in
Mandarin he did so because an ECFA is “a very significant issue that concerns
the future of a country.”
Hartsough said that while having ordinary conversations in Mandarin is easy,
debating in Mandarin can be challenging. As a result, he has been practicing
with his classmates for several weeks.
The debate, which concludes today, attracted students from NTU, NCCU, Soochow
University and Tamkang University, as well as the Republic of China Military
Academy, which is participating for the first time and sent three teams.
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