Content of pact must be OK'd by the Legislature: MAC head

In response to questions from opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan gave her assurances that the Legislative Yuan would have to screen the agreement as required in Article 5 of the Statute Governing the Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.

According to Lai, the process of negotiating and signing a CECA — which in theory will allow the free flow of merchandise, services, and capital between Taiwan and China — will be conducted under the statute's legal guidelines.

In addition, Lai said the CECA would be purely economic in nature and not have any implications for Taiwan's sovereignty, adding that the government would not make any arrangements that would jeopardize the country's sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan reiterated Friday that there is no timetable for the signing of such an agreement, but he said it is not expected to be broached at the next round of negotiations between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), scheduled for later this year.

The SEF and ARATS are quasi-official organizations designated by their respective governments to handle cross-strait matters in the absence of official ties. The MAC supervises SEF operations.

Liu promised that all related government agencies will do their best to assess the benefits and impact of signing a cross-strait economic cooperation framework with China and bringing this plan to fruition is a goal every government agency should pursue.

As to concerns raised by DPP legislators that most people are unclear about the content of a potential agreement, Liu pledged that the government would inform the public and lawmakers of the content and meaning of the cooperation framework before inking such an agreement with China.

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