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Cabinet approves
cross-strait service trade pact
OPPORTUNITIES: President Ma Ying-jeou defended
the agreement, saying it would allow competitive local businesses to expand and
develop across the Strait
By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporters
The cross-strait service trade agreement has been approved by the Cabinet and
will soon be sent to the legislature for review, Executive Yuan spokesperson
Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said yesterday.
Under the agreement signed on Friday last week in Shanghai, Taiwan will open 64
sectors in the service industry to Chinese investment, while China will open 80
sectors to Taiwanese businesses.
Lawmakers reached an agreement on Tuesday to review the agreement item-by-item
and vote on each of the articles and sector-specific commitments separately,
contrary to the hope of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration that the
legislature will vote on the agreement as a whole.
Lawmakers also agreed at the Tuesday meeting that the pact cannot take effect
without the legislature’s ratification.
At a press conference following the Cabinet meeting yesterday, Mainland Affairs
Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said the council would communicate
face-to-face with lawmakers, academics and people from all walks of life to
address their concerns over possible impacts from the agreement.
The council is willing to hold one-on-one meetings with lawmakers on the
Internal Administration Committee and Economic Committee and any other
legislators who are interested in the issue, Wang said.
Wang dismissed allegations that holding public meetings after the pact has
already been signed is an attempt to “brainwash” the public into thinking
positively about the agreement.
“It was an unfair criticism. The executive branch is obliged to explain the
government’s policies to people,” Wang said.
There will be a series of meetings with academics and experts on campuses,
ordinary people in rural communities and public servants in local governments to
discuss concerns they may have about the agreement, Wang said.
Wang declined to comment on Straits Exchange Foundation Vice Chairman and
Secretary-General Kao Koong-lian’s (高孔廉) comment on Wednesday that any revision
made by lawmakers to the agreement would nullify it.
The council will respect whatever decision the legislature makes, Wang said.
While most people, like Kao, might think that having the legislature alter parts
of the agreement or reject some of the items may be tantamount to an abrogation
of the agreement, the government will still have to review and interpret the
results of the legislative decisions, he said.
Wang declined to elaborate, saying he would rather not speculate on how the
legislature would handle the agreement.
In the legislature, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) reiterated that the
agreement would be dealt with in accordance with Tuesday’s decision.
Ma yesterday also defended the signing of the agreement, saying it would allow
competitive Taiwanese businesses to expand and develop in China.
The pact is an extension of the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework
Agreement (ECFA), Ma said.
“The service trade agreement covers a wider range of industries and allows very
competitive local businesses to invest in mainland China,” he said at a meeting
with representatives from the US Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Ma made the comments in response to criticism that the government failed to
disclose details of the treaty and to present an impact assessment report on the
pact’s potential effect on local businesses before the deal was signed.
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