China-Taiwan trade pact sparks street protest in Taipei

Thousands of demonstrators are on the streets of Taipei, venting their anger at a trade deal with China, to be signed on Tuesday.

The agreement will cut tariffs on exports and loosen curbs on investment.

Supporters say it will boost Taiwan's economy but critics fear it could pave the way for a Chinese takeover of the island.

Taiwan and China split after the civil war in 1949 but Beijing still regards the island as a renegade province.

Leaders of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party are calling for Taiwan to hold a referendum on the pact, known as the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.

Job loss fears

Taiwan's government has said the deal is crucial to keep its exports competitive with those of China's other trade partners.

But the opposition DPP say the deal could be the first step in a Chinese political takeover. Most Taiwanese resist the idea of unification with the Communist mainland.

The opposition also warns that a flood of cheap Chinese imports could lead to factory closures and the loss of jobs.

Despite decades of animosity, the two neighbours have become major trading partners, says the BBC's Cindy Sui in Taipei.

China has offered what are considered unusually generous terms, cutting tariffs on 539 Taiwanese products entering its market. These include car parts, petrochemicals and fruit.

In contrast, only 267 Chinese products would benefit from reduced tariffs on the Taiwanese side.

China would be able to invest in some Taiwanese service industries, while Taiwan would gain access to sectors such as computer services and airline maintenance in China.

Reducing tensions

The government of President Ma Ying-Jeo has made closer ties with China one of its leading policies.

Its aim is to reduce tensions across the Taiwan Strait, a flashpoint for decades since 1949.

China still has more than 1,000 missiles targeting the island as a warning against declaring formal independence.

Opinion polls indicate that a majority of Taiwanese back the trade agreement.

It could open the way for Taiwan to sign free-trade deals with other countries, something Beijing has resisted in the past.

Tens of thousands rally in Taiwan against China pact

(AFP) – 4 hours ago

TAIPEI — Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Taipei on Saturday as Taiwan prepares to seal a major trade deal with Beijing that opponents fear is a step towards Chinese control.

"Oppose ECFA!", "Save Taiwan!", protesters shouted at the march in downtown Taipei organised by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The party claimed 100,000 people had turned out to demonstrate against the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), while the police put the number at 32,000.

"Taiwan should decide its own future," DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen told supporters who thronged a square near the presidential office despite heavy rain. "We don't want to fall victim to ECFA because many people will lose their jobs."

Security was tight, with over 2,000 police deployed for the event, organised before Taiwanese envoy Chiang Pin-kung travels to China to sign the agreement on Tuesday.

Taiwan and China have been governed separately since a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the self-ruled island part of its territory and has vowed to get it back, by force if necessary.

President Ma Ying-jeou, who was visiting the island's south and has steered a course towards rapprochement with Beijing, urged the DPP not to "oppose ECFA for the sake of opposing it.

"We respect the people's rights to rally but we hope the DPP can rationally monitor the pact," he told reporters.

The deal will lead to preferential tariffs for 539 Taiwanese product categories in areas stretching from petrochemicals to textiles, while applying to only about half as many Chinese items.

Former president Lee Teng-hui, a vocal critic of China, told the crowd: "ECFA will benefit big corporations rather than the general public, labour or small businesses.... It is wrong and it will hurt Taiwan."

Ties with China have improved markedly since Ma took office in 2008 following years of rising tension when the DPP and Lee were in power.

The current government has argued the deal will boost growth and employment.

Beijing is ready to go ahead with the accord because "the two sides are one family," Zheng Lizhong, a negotiator for the Chinese side, said in Taipei this week.

But opponents say the accord will strengthen China's clout and mark a first step towards reunification.

"There is no free lunch in this world," said Andrew Chen, a businessman in Taipei, brandishing a World Cup-style South African vuvuzela trumpet in his hands. "I think Taiwan is getting too close to China and we need to be on our guard."

Protesters said they were using the "vuvuzela," which sounds like "upset" in Taiwanese, to show their anger.

Jason Ho, a graduate student, complained that the government should not have signed the deal without the people's consent: "The public doesn't even know what's on ECFA and it's already a done deal. It's very upsetting."

By ANNIE HUANG (AP) – 36 minutes ago

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Thousands of opposition supporters chanted anti-communist slogans as they marched in Taiwan's capital Saturday to protest a planned trade agreement with rival China that they say will undermine the island's self-rule and its economy.

Many protesters held signs reading "It's a Shame to Embrace Communist China" and "Protect Taiwan, Protect Our Jobs" as they marched several miles (kilometers) along a main thoroughfare in Taipei.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party is calling for a referendum on the pact, saying Taiwanese have a right to express their views before it takes effect.

Organizers said they expected 100,000 people would participate in the protest in Taipei. Police did not immediately release a crowd figure.

The government says the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, to be signed Tuesday in the Chinese city of Chongqing, will give Taiwanese companies tariff benefits in China that are similar to those received by Southeast Asian countries under a separate trade pact with China.

The agreement is the jewel in the crown of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou's policy of seeking closer economic ties to ease tension across the Taiwan Strait, a flash point since the two sides split amid civil war in 1949.

But closer political and economic ties could also serve China's long-term goal of returning the self-ruled island to its control, the fundamental aim of its Taiwan policy.

"The trade pact would turn Taiwan into another Chinese territory like Hong Kong," said Chang Kuo-min, a rubber factory worker from central Changhua county. "Taiwanese have worked so hard to achieve the democracy we have today, and we will not allow China to control us."

Farmer Wu Hsien-che dismissed China's acceptance of tariff-free imports of some Taiwanese farm products as "sugarcoated poison."

Polls, however, show that more Taiwanese support the trade pact than oppose it.

Most of the protesters Saturday were elderly people from central and south Taiwan, the stronghold of the pro-independence DPP.

The DPP says Taiwanese may gain short-term benefits from the tariff cuts, but that many local factories may be forced to shut down within a few years under an onslaught of cheap Chinese goods.

Premier Wu Dun-yih has said the deal will eventually create 260,000 jobs in Taiwan by attracting more Taiwanese and foreign investment on the island.

Under the trade pact, Taiwanese companies will receive tariff advantages on 539 products exported to China, while Chinese companies will receive advantages on 267 products in the Taiwan market.

Bilateral trade totals about $110 billion a year, with $50 billion in Taiwan's favor.

Since losing the presidency to Ma in 2008, the DPP has won six out of seven legislative by-elections and scored important gains in a series of local polls.

It hopes to use unhappiness over Ma's China policies — particularly the trade pact — to achieve big gains in mayoral elections later this year and ultimately win the 2012 presidential election.

On Saturday, Ma said the trade agreement will be submitted to Taiwan's legislature for approval next month. His ruling Nationalist Party holds a majority of the seats and the pact is expected to pass easily.

Taiwanese protest trade pact