DPP scholars, officials clash on ECFA plan

In fact, some DPP scholars opined that they don't oppose the signing of the ECFA with China on the condition that China openly announce that it will no longer boycott Taiwan's participation in the economic integration in East Asia and Taiwan's signing free trade agreements (FTAs) with foreign countries.

In related news, Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday that it's unnecessary to hold a referendum on the signing of ECFA between Taiwan and China.

During the opposition-organized national affairs conference, some critics contended that the plan proposed by President Ma Ying-jeou's administration to sign an ECFA with China could plunge Taiwan into a crisis in which its national sovereignty would be eroded.

In response, Lai argued that the proposed ECFA is just part of the government's efforts to promote normalization of cross-strait relations and is unrelated to such sensitive issues as national sovereignty or cross-strait unification.

“As the proposed cross-strait trade pact is simply a general economic cooperation accord and does not have anything to do with the sovereignty issue, there is no need to put it up for a referendum if such a pact is actually signed,” Lai said.

Expressing her understanding of some people's concern over the proposed accord's possible adverse impact, Lai said the ECFA will mainly deal with fair trade issues and will not touch on any sovereignty issues.

Stressing that signing an agreement requires the consent of both sides, Lai said the government will stand firm on its stance and will not compromise national sovereignty during the negotiation process.

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