wfn.org | Overseas Taiwanese petition to Legislative Yuan against ECFA

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

>      Taiwan Church News

>3040 Edition

>May 31~June 6, 2010

Overseas Taiwanese petition to Legislative Yuan against ECFA

>Reported by Lin Yi-ying

>Written by Lydia Ma

Taiwanese living in North America are launching their own campaign  against the 
Ma

administration’s proposed economic cooperation framework  agreement (ECFA) with 
China.

Their movement “Say NO to ECFA! Save Taiwan!” was born  out of frustration with 
President

Ma’s insistence on signing this agreement with China despite  mass opposition.

Dr. Hsu Fu-tong, trade policy advisor to former U.S. President  Bill Clinton, 
visited PCT leaders

on May 26 and said Taiwan Pen Association in the US had already  sent a 
petition to

Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng stating its opposition to  ECFA. 
Carbon copies of

the petition were sent to President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu  Den-yih.

The petition was signed by more than 150 Taiwanese university  professors and 30

organizations across the U.S., including Greater New York Taiwan  Pen 
Association, North

American Taiwanese Medical Association, and Formosan Association  for Public 
Affairs (New

>York branch).

It also included remarks from various U.S. economists and  politicians. One U.S.

congresswoman likened ECFA to a Trojan horse – Beijing’s  political tool to 
take over Taiwan.

Some economists pointed out Taiwan could sign free trade  agreements with other 
countries

unilaterally and it was unnecessary to seek Beijing’s help  through ECFA.

These organizations also sent two economists back to Taiwan to  conduct 
lectures throughout

the country and inform Taiwanese people about the loss of national  sovereignty 
and severe

>economic fallouts of signing ECFA.

Among the signatories of this petition were several Taiwanese  churches, 
including Grace

Taiwanese-American Presbyterian Church in New Jersey, New York  Union Church,

Presbyterian Church in North New Jersey, Long Island Reformed  Church, etc.

During a meeting with PCT General Secretary Andrew Chang, Hsu  especially 
thanked PCT

for its longstanding contributions to Taiwanese democracy. He also  urged all 
social

organizations in Taiwan to rise up and prevent the signing of a  treaty that 
would harm their country.

>********************

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local  languages.

You may translate and re-use our articles online only if you  acknowledge the 
source as

"Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and  writer.

Contact us before reprinting any of our articles for print  publications.

Direct comments and questions about this article to:  enews@pctpress.org

Visit our website for more news at: http://enews.pctpress.org/  (English)

>http://www.pctpress.org (Chinese)

>********************

> 
>