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Taiwan parliament warns over China trade pact

China president's son made secret visit to Taiwan
Chinese President Hu Jintao's son made a top-secret visit to Taiwan earlier this month, a Taipei-based weekly said Wednesday, amid improving ties between the former bitter rivals. Hu Haifeng, accompanied by unidentified high-ranking Chinese officials, arrived on the island on July 18 and met with agricultural experts, Next Magazine quoted unnamed sources as saying. The weekly said Hu's trip was kept under wraps as he was forced to call off a planned visit to Taiwan in May to attend an academic conference after the island's media got wind of it. Hu, a top official at Tsinghua University's Yangtze Delta Region Institute in the southeastern province of Zhejiang, also discussed agricultural technology transfer with researcher Tsay Tung-tsuan, the report said. Tsay, who heads the plant pathology department in National Chung Hsing University in central Taiwan, was not immediately available for comment. Tsay reportedly told the weekly that he met with "heavyweight Chinese officials" in mid-July who "can call the shots of China's agricultural policy" but declined to say whether Hu was among them. Next Magazine is known for its investigative reporting and has broken important stories in the past. As the son of China's leader, Hu Haifeng would be one of the highest-profile visitors yet from the mainland, since Taiwan's Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou assumed power in 2008. China and Taiwan split in 1949 following a civil war, but Beijing still regards the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
by Staff Writers
Taipei (AFP) July 28, 2010
China may use a trade pact with Taiwan to push for its political goal of reunification, the island's parliament warned in a report on Wednesday.

The Beijing-friendly administration of President Ma Ying-jeou last month signed the historic Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), the most sweeping accord yet signed between the two former bitter rivals.

Taiwan's parliament, dominated by Ma's Kuomintang party, warned Beijing may have a political motive behind the agreement.

"While ECFA may generate a lot of business opportunities for Taiwan, we must not turn a blind eye to the perceived threats in the wake of the agreement," it said in a research report for lawmakers obtained by AFP.

Taiwan's Economic Minister Shih Yen-shiang has said the ECFA is expected to create 60,000 new jobs in two years.

But the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party warns the deal, which has yet to receive final approval from parliament, would relegate Taiwan to the status of a local government such as semi-autonomous Hong Kong and Macau in any talks with Beijing.

Echoing the warning, the parliamentary report said Beijing could force Taipei into political negotiations once Taiwan became more reliant on the mainland economically.

"When that happened, Beijing may press for a peace agreement to pave the way for China's peaceful reunification," it said.

Taiwan enjoyed a surplus of 37.6 billion US dollars in trade with the mainland in 2009, and analysts say the gap is not likely to be narrowed by the agreement, which has been tipped to benefit Taipei.

The report also challenged Ma's belief that the agreement would encourage other countries to sign free trade agreements (FTA) with Taiwan.

"Despite the agreement, China will continue deterring other countries from forging FTAs with Taiwan ... so as to highlight its sovereignty claim over Taiwan," the report said.

Ties between Beijing and Taipei have improved markedly since Ma came to power in 2008. Beijing still considers the island part of its territory waiting to be reunified -- by force if necessary -- though the island has ruled itself since their split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.



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Taipei (AFP) July 21, 2010
China could raise the number of missiles aimed at Taiwan to 1,900 by the end of the year despite warming ties between the former bitter rivals, according to the island's deputy defence minister. Military experts estimate that the PLA currently has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the island. But recent media reports have said the People's Liberation Army may boost the number of short-ra ... read more







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