MAC chief hopes ECFA will be signed early next year

At a seminar on the outlook of relations across the Taiwan Strait, Lai offered standard answers regarding Taipei's China policy.

“The ECFA has to be signed in line with the necessity of the nation, with the support of the people and under oversight by Parliament,” she said.

That is the standard answer she has given since she took office on May 20 last year.

Without the ECFA, Lai said, Taiwan may be marginalized economically in an emerging free trade zone in Asia where China dominates.

On the other hand, Lai reiterated, the signing of the ECFA “is purely an act of (foreign) trade.”

She quoted President Ma Ying-jeou as stating the priority in China policy in three stages: “economics before politics, urgent need first and less urgent need later, and easy task first and difficult task later.”

Priority is given to economics over politics, she explained. Urgently needed tasks have to be tackled first and then come efforts to take on less urgently needed tasks.

“Those easier tasks have to be tackled first,” Lai continued. “Then the tougher tasks,” she added.

There is no timetable for political dialogue between Taipei and Beijing, Lai said.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email