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Updated Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:15 am TWN, The China Post news staff

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Taiwan-China trade agreement recognized internationally

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The signing of the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) by Taiwan and China yesterday became one of the major stories in world media.

The Wall Street Journal called ECFA “not only good news for the Taiwanese people,” but also represents “a broader warming trend between the two Chinas,” promoted by President Ma Ying-jeou.

The WSJ saw the agreement as a step taken by Ma to “correct” Taiwan's error for the past decade to be “looked down on as the rest of Asia opened up to trade with China and boomed.” With ECFA removing trade cross-strait barriers, Taiwan “can fulfill its potential as a regional center” and is “no longer in danger of being left behind in the race to promote intraregional trade,” the WSJ contends.

The WSJ saw ECFA as a well-played tactic by mainland China to woo Taiwan with economic benefits. The newspaper suggested that the island “must also raise its game to retain de facto independence” by promoting “free-market reform at home to keep the island regionally competitive.”

British business newspaper The Financial Times, on the other hand, described ECFA as a “gamble” by Taiwanese government. It questioned the rationale behind signing the agreement and “cozy up to Beijing, which still has 1,000 missiles pointed across the 100-mile stretch of water” while Taiwan's economy “has been ticking on just fine without one.”

The Financial Times called on Ma to “keep emphasizing the bigger picture” as the detente with China could help open up trade agreement with the U.S., Japan and Europe.

Weekly newspaper The Economist yesterday focused on the political impact of the agreement. The newspaper regarded the claim by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party that ECFA could harm Taiwan's jobs and lead to the island's eventual reunification with China as “overblown”, but noted that the island will enter a “lengthy season of frantic politics in which nuanced arguments about trade will be an early casualty” as politicians warm up for the year-end mayoral elections.

Finding the right approach to China will be a challenge for the DPP, The Economist pointed out, adding that the party's “harping on about ECFA may not go down well with voters if the risk the DPP stresses do not materialize.”

“Greed for China's market is good for the KMT's (the ruling Kuomintang) electoral prospect; but fear for its long-term intentions can still boost the DPP,” the Economist commented.

Singaporean newspaper The Strait Times described the signing of ECFA as the “culmination” of Ma's Beijing-friendly policy that “further eases political tensions six decades after the rivals split amid civil war.”

The South Korean news agency Yonhap yesterday quoted a report released by the Korea International Trade Association that called for Seoul to make free trade agreement pact with China quickly to off set ECFA's “significant damage” to South Korean exports to China.

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Comments

July 7, 2010 sttan_ctckul@

Congratulations, it makes as much sense as bread and butter, peace and prosperous life style is what people want rather than wasting money on weapons and bloodshed which only the supplier gains where human life lost is insane as millions died of hunger where the money should go to.