wfn.org | PCT fears signing ECFA is akin to opening Pandora’s Box

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3033 Edition

>April 12~18, 2010

PCT fears signing ECFA is akin to opening Pandora’s Box

>Reported by Sam Lee

>Written by Lydia Ma

What is ECFA and can you define and explain it in 30 seconds? To  answer this 
question,

PCT General Assembly invited Taiwan Think-Tank CEO Chen Po-chih to  speak on 
this issue

during the recent 55th General Assembly Meeting of the PCT.  According to Chen, 
ECFA

would essentially lift tariffs on more than 90% of imported goods  between 
Taiwan and China

and is literally an “open- door policy”.

Chen went on to warn that the costs of signing an ECFA with China  outweigh the 
benefits, and

listed examples such as demise of Taiwan’s agricultural  sector, increased 
unemployment, low

wages, and eventual loss of national sovereignty as Taiwan is  taken over by 
China little by

little. These fallouts explain why it is important to sign a  petition that 
calls for a national

referendum on ECFA. PCT delegates attending the 55th General  Assembly Meeting 
firmly

>supported this petition.

It has been more than a year since the Ma administration began  promoting ECFA 
but many

people are still in the dark about what ECFA really entails for  Taiwan. 
Commenting on the

mystery surrounding ECFA, Chen responded that President Ma  Ying-jeou doesn’t 
want the

public to know the truth behind ECFA and that’s why his  administration has 
only spoken about

the positive effects of ECFA. But Chen claims ECFA is akin to a  
beautifully-boxed gift with a

>dangerous tiger lurking inside.

As for the Ma administration’s insistence that ECFA is not a  political issue, 
Chen replied that,

though ECFA may not contain the words “one-China” (also  known as unification), 
President

Hu Jintao’s “Six-Points on Taiwan Policy” issued  last year makes it apparent 
that is precisely

>what Beijing intends to achieve through ECFA.

Chen said the political ramifications of ECFA are enormous, but  the Ma 
administration is

purposely sticking its head in the sand and forging ahead  regardless of the 
harm ECFA will

inflict on Taiwan. That is the reasons why it’s imperative to  collect enough 
petitions to turn

ECFA into a referendum issue decided by Taiwanese people.

PCT Sediq District Moderator Rev. Watan Diro commented that he  fears ECFA will 
inflict

unprecedented economic and political devastation to Taiwan. He  hopes that 
experts can hold

some information sessions in Aborigine reservations so that  Aborigines can 
know what is at

>stake as well.

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