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TSU says New Party
eyes unification with Pingtan
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
The New Party has made itself a “broker for unification” and Beijing’s endorser
through its establishment of an organization to promote a planned cross-strait
experimental zone in China, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said yesterday.
The party’s motive behind its promotion of the Pingtan Comprehensive
Experimental Zone in China’s Fujian Province was “suspicious,” TSU Chairman
Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) told a press conference after the pro-unification New Party
announced yesterday the establishment of the Taiwan-Pingtan Relations
Association.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration appears wary of the proposal, with
Premier Sean Chen telling lawmakers on Wednesday last week that China has
“ulterior motives” and the zone “is not as simple as it looks.”
The establishment of the association ahead of a promotional visit by the Fujian
governor to Taiwan reflected the New Party’s attempt to collaborate with the
Chinese to achieve their shared goal of unification, Huang said.
Chinese media say the zone, which is on Pingtan Island, 68 nautical miles
(125km) from Hsinchu, would host high-tech companies and factories and “deepen
cross-strait ties,” but Taiwanese analysts are concerned that Taiwan’s economy
would hollow out further if more domestic businesses move their investments
there.
TSU Legislator Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) said incoming Chinese capital and closer
cross-strait economic integration following the signing of the Economic
Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) could slowly jeopardize Taiwan’s economy.
She urged the Ma administration to stay alert to China’s attempt of annexing
Taiwan through non-military means.
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