DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen, Chairman Huang Kuen-hui of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), and convener-in-chief of the Taiwan Nation Alliance jointly held a press conference to announce the successful collection of the endorsements from initiators of the proposal.

At the press conference, Tsai urged the Taiwanese people not to give up their rights to vote for or against the ECFA issue.

Tsai said if the government signs the ECFA with China, it will affect the reinvestment and redistribution of social wealth.

"The choice of economic and social cultures is a solid content of sovereignty, rather than having nothing to do with state sovereignty as claimed by the Ma Ying-jeou administration. Accordingly, the DPP has asserted that before the ECFA is signed, a national referendum on the issue should be held," Tsai said.

Tsai also called for the Ma administration not to shun the ECFA referendum issue by using various ways to interrupt, postpone or boycott the holding of the public referendum. "Otherwise, they will pay for it," Tsai said.

In response, Vice Minister Teng Chen-chung of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), which is responsible for drafting the ECFA proposal, said that his ministry respects different opinions concerning the ECFA issue, but all relevant sectors had better seek consensus on the substantive contents of the pact via intensive discussions, instead of wasting social resources.

Also yesterday, the MOEA unveiled a couple of cartoon figures to publicize the four letters of "ECFA" and introduce the "ECFA" to the Taiwanese people in a plain way. The ministry hoped the two figures will squelch all worries and doubts of local people about possible adverse effects of the signing of an ECFA.

In addition, in an effort to cushion the impact of the ECFA on traditional industries, the MOEA has decided to set up an exclusive fund of over NT$30 billion to help over 3,000 makers in such traditional industries as towels, footwear, garment, stockings, beddings, underwear and sweaters to upgrade their production to survive the impact.

Think tanks on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will move to jointly study the various aspects of the ECFA between July and September, and bilateral negotiations on the signing of the pact will be kicked off in October.