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Transcript of DPP Newsletter Feb2009
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* A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE DPPS DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL
AFFAIRS.
Democracy &Progress
FEBRUARY2009
Happy Lunar New Year!DEMOCRACY&PROGRESSDepartment of
International Affairs
Democratic Progressive Party
8F, No. 30, Pei-Ping East Rd.
Taipei, Taiwan
t. 886-2-23929989 ext. 306
f. 886-2-23930342
e-mail: [email protected]
web: http://www.dpp.org.tw
Director:
Lin, Chen-wei
Deputy Director:
Huang, Chih-ta
Editor-In-Chief:
Liu, Hsiaoching
Editor:
Mike Fonte
Staff Writer:
James Chen
Britt Mercadante
Six Members of the DPP Receive Top Marks in CCWEvaluation Report of the 7th Legislature (p2)
Remember the 228 Incident (p2)We can forgive historical mistakes but history must not be forgotten..., Dr. Tsaisaid.
DPP 2009 Action Plan (p3)In order to transform the DPP and lay out a 2009 action strategy, Chairperson TsaiIng-wen called for a special meeting of the DPP Central Standing Committee onFebruary 8
th
I. Dr. Tsai: 2009 Is A Social Movement Year (p3)II. Conclusion Reached By The Central Standing Committee (p4)
III.DPP Organizational Reform (p6)
IV.Financial Management and Fundraising Strategy: A Party That IsSmall Yet Beautiful And Powerful (p6)
Conclusion of the Taiwan Citizen Conference onNational Affairs (Feb. 21-22) (p7)
The Taiwan Citizens Conference on National Affairs was held on February 21-22 atthe Howard International House, Taipei. More than 300 people showed up in aconference room with only about 200 seats. Comments from panels andparticipants could be summarized in the following points
The DPP Public Survey on Taiwans Unemploymentand Economic Issues (p10)
52% of respondents disagreed with the statement: Taiwans economy is bad right
now, so we should further strengthen our economic interaction with China
Liberty Times interview with Dr. Tsai: (p12)CEPA? CECA? OR ECFA?
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Six Members of the DPP Receive
Top Marks in CCW Evaluation
Report of the 7th Legislature
On March 2, 2009, Citizen Congress Watch
released its 2nd evaluation report of the 7th
Legislature. Even though the DPP only holds 27 out
of 113 seats in the Legislature, it had six members
praised as the top performers on their respective
committees and two members received marks that
placed them second in their committees.
Committee No.1
Foreign and NationalDefense Committee Twu Shiing-jer()Judiciary and Organic
Laws and Statutes
Committee
Lu Hsueh-chang
()
Finance Committee Huang Wei-cher
()Economics Committee Pan Meng-an
()Internal Administration
Committee
Chen Chieh-ju
()Transportation Committee Yeh Yi-ching
()Education and Culture
Committee
Chiang Yi-hsiung
()Social Welfare and
Environmental Hygiene
Committee
Huang Sue-ying
() andWilliam Lai (,)
Citizen Congress Watch was founded two years
ago by a group of scholars, journalists, college
students and representatives of various civic groupsand NGOs. The objective of the CCW is to improve
the performance of the Legislative Yuan by
periodically conducting evaluations of each member
of the legislature. Using criteria such as attendance,
number of legislative proposals, quality of
interpellation and efforts made to support bills to
increase transparency in the legislature, etc., the
CCW assigns scores to lawmakers in each
legislative committee and then ranks them within
their committee.
Remember the 228 Incident
On February 27, in commemoration of the 62nd
anniversary of Taiwan's 2-28 Incident , DPP Chair Dr.Tsai Ing-wen and senior DPP officials, accompanied by
families of the 228 victims, placed flowers in 228
Memorial Peace Park to pay their respects to those who
sacrificed their lives in this tragic event.
We are here today to pay our respects to the victims of
228 and show that we have not forgotten them nor have
we forgotten our own responsibility. Our generation
must not forget those whose history is deep within our
collective memory. We also have to tell the next
generation that, even though they have no personalexperience of those dark days, together we must reflect
deeply on how the wrong attitudes and decisions by a
ruler can impact families so painfully and harm the
people. Dr. Tsai said.
It is said that we can forgive historical mistakes but
history must not be forgotten. said Tsai. However,
the precondition for forgiveness of historical mistakes is
that the person who committed the errors must sincerely
reexamine and admit the mistakes and thus seek
forgiveness and reconciliation from society.
The responsibility of any political party is to keep
harmony within Taiwanese society, prevent social
polarization, and protect democracy and freedom. After
62 years of hard work by the Taiwanese people, we now
have a real sense of community. The harmony of the
society comes from learning from each other,
empathizing with the feelings of others and
soul-searching. The DPP has to carry this out but it is
our hope that every political party, especially the rulingparty, will take this responsibility seriously, she said.
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DPP 2009 Action Plan
In order to transform the DPP and lay out a 2009 action strategy, Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen called for a
special meeting of the DPP Central Standing Committee on February 8th. Two major issues were
discussed: (1) how to become a strong and effective opposition power to provide the necessary checksand balances to the governments policies and (2) how to better connect with social powers (grassroots
and civic organizations).
I. DR. TSAI: 2009 IS A SOCIAL MOVEMENT YEAR
In the meeting, Dr. Tsai announced that 2009 is a social movement year for the DPP. She reminded
people that before the DPP took power nine years ago, the DPP had always been the engine allied with
the people to bring changes, liberal thinking and new ideas, such as democracy, human rights, womens
rights, and environmental protection to Taiwanese society. We have to revive this spirit of our party,
she said. The current KMT administration is dragging Taiwanese society back to the old,
conservative and autocratic society. We have to keep up the dynamic energy of Taiwans
democracy. The DPPs social movement year does not mean a return to being the party of
street protests. Social movement year means integrating with social powers (grassroots and
civic organizations) to breathe along with society, to think and discuss major issues and then
formulate a consensus with society.
Dr. Tsai identified the following goals:
1. The DPP has to forge links with those civic groups with progressive ideas; moreover, the DPP
will work with and learn from those NGOs and utilize their experience and energy to strengthenthe partys ideals and social responsibility.
2. The DPP will consult academics to strengthen the DPPs policy research capabilities- to make
the DPPs policy proposals more comprehensive, advanced and persuasive. By conducting
this kind of process and dialogue, we hope our policy debates and policy proposals will attract
those in the blue camp, be accepted by majority of the society and become consensus
policies.
3. The DPP must be closer to the people- regardless of ethnic background or social class- listening
to them and being sympathetic to their feelings, so that the DPP will become more open-minded,
creative and appreciative of different ways of thinking.
4. The DPP must modify its organizational structure to make it more open and accessible to social
forces so that they can enter into our discussions, our policy decision-making, into the very
backbone of our party. We will thus bring the partys thinking closer to that of the people. In other
words, we must blend those with governing experience and the social forces so that the party
might become a platform wherein we press each other forward.
In order for the DPP to achieve these goals, the first step is to rearrange the organizational structure of
the party headquarters so that it can contact and absorb wide-ranging views. We must meet with as wide
a cross-section of society as possible. We need to build a consensus around important policy issues.
We need to look beyond DPP party members when we nominate people. To accelerate reform of party
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structure, we must look to both our own experts and non-DPP personnel in order to see what is the best
form, a flexible or rigid structure; how we should run our primaries etc. The final step is the formation of
political alliances with other groups willing to protect our national sovereignty, democracy and human
rights. With this as the premise, the DPP is willing to work with any organization and political party, Dr.
Tsai added.
II. CONCLUSIONS REACHED BY THE CENTRAL STANDING COMMITTEE
FOREWORD
For some time now we have experienced a very difficult overall situation in Taiwan with rapid
political and economic changes. This has been particularly true with the three crises engendered by the
Ma administration: the national sovereignty crisis, the economic crisis and the crisis in social equality.
We are well aware that, whether for DPP supporters or for others in Taiwan society, there exists deep
anxiety and uncertainty about the future. Members of the DPP Central Standing Committee recognize
that we bear the great expectations of our people and are duty-bound to defend Taiwans sovereigntyand protect the well-being of our people.
Recognizing these hardships and the rapid-changing external environment, we have only one
choice: unify the party, forge links with civic society and push for reform. The DPP has to play a strong
and effective role as opposition party to safeguard Taiwans sovereignty, protect the rights of the
disadvantaged in our society, and stand firm on the principle of social justice. Facing the global
economic crisis, the core of our economic policy proposal would be securing employment.
2009 will be the key year for the DPP to combine with social forces, provide checks-and-balances
against the Ma government and win local elections.
ACTION GUIDELINE
The DPP will review its policy positions to establish a policy framework that better meets the
demands of today and the core values of the DPP.
The DPP will strengthen its policy decision-making mechanism to make it more effective in
selecting and initiating policies so that it have a clearer public image with both our supporters
and the general public, one that distinguishes the DPP from the ruling party.
The DPP will improve its efficiency, adjusting its organizational structure to better meet the
partys future development, enhance its interaction with voters, actively nurture local talent and
dialogue with our grassroots people. The DPP will form an alliance with social powers by establishing consultation committees
based on issues, extending our social outreach and establishing effective communication and a
platform for dialogue.
MAJOR TASKS OF THE YEAR
There are three major 2009 agenda tasks: Safeguarding Taiwans sovereignty, Playing a
constructive role in fighting economic recession and unemployment, and Winning the local elections
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I. Safeguarding Taiwans sovereignty
The DPP will renew its discussion of sovereignty to make it more closely connected to peoples
economic livelihood and survival.
The DPP will propose a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the current international
situation and develop a strategic plan on cross-strait issues; we will take the actions necessaryto provide an effective check and balance against the government to prevent the loss of
sovereignty and any roll-back of democracy.
To prevent the Ma administration from signing agreements that will be harmful to Taiwans
national interests, the DPP should continue pushing for revision of the Cross Strait Relation Act
(Act Government Relations Between People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area) so
that all agreements between the Taiwanese and Chinese governments will be overseen by the
Legislature .
In response to the Ma administrations policy of leaning towards China, the DPP will initiate a
social movement calling for safeguarding Taiwan. By encouraging participation from all citizens,
regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, gender, age and political ideology, we would like to
build a consensus on cherishing Taiwans democracy and social reconciliation.
II. Playing a constructive role in fighting economic recession and unemployment
Employment initiatives will be central to the DPPs discussion of the economy and economic
policy; well seek to prevent an over-reliance on China; we will promote the energy industry and
those industries that meet domestic demand and bring a better quality of life for Taiwanese
people, such as the healthcare service industry, urban renewal, organic farming and leisure
agriculture etc.
The DPP will keep a close eye on the performance of the governments economic policy. Issues such as Economic development and employment, the social safety net, trade and
financial activity across the strait, local systems and energy and sustainable development
will be prioritized by DPP local city and county magistrates, party caucuses and think tanks.
III. "Winning the local elections
The DPP governed jurisdictions will increase their cooperation and recreate a common image
of Green Government
The DPP candidates will propose common campaign themes to gain constituent confidence in
DPP governance.
The DPP will strengthen its grassroots networking and improve DPP local chapters capacity toserve and advocate.
The DPP will establish an Internet Campaign Department to utilize Internet technology to reach
out to youth and Internet users.
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III. DPP Organizational Reform:
New Departments established:
Current name: New department:
Department of Social Development Social Movement Department
Department of Ethic Affairs Department of Hakka Affairs
Department of Indigenous Affairs
(New) Department of New Media
Consultation groups: integrate former officials, legislators, analysts and experts to form
consultation groups on election policy, social development, foreign affairs, and China policy.
IV. Financial management and fundraising strategy: A Party that is small yet
beautiful and powerful
25th DPP Central Standing Committee meeting was held on February 18 th to discuss the DPPs financial
reform, fundraising strategy and the financing of upcoming local elections.
Our future managerial guideline is to make the DPP a political party that is small yet beautiful and
powerful, DPP spokesperson Cheng Wen-tsang said. Compared to the KMT which has tremendous
party assets and resources, the DPP has never been a rich party, we are always fighting to figure out
how to best utilize our limited resources.
A. Economizing on party expenditure
Cheng said that after the DPP returned to being the opposition, the 2009 budget was adjusted: office
space was reduced from three floors to two, the staff was downsized to 107 people with five staff
persons, including the Chairperson and the Secretary General, unpaid; overtime pay was replaced by
vacation hours; and office supplies management was strengthen to reduce operating costs.
B. Fundraising responsibility for DPP public officers
As to the fundraising quota for each of the DPP members who serve as public officers, Cheng said that
the 2009 quota remains the same as last year: for the party chairperson and the financial management
committee it is ten-million NTD (about $300,000 USD), members of the DPP Central Standing
Committee have a quota of $1.5million NTD. Members of Central Review Committees quota isNT$300,000, county magistrates 1.5 million NTD, legislators NT$500,000, councilors for Taipei city or
Kaohsiung city NT$250,000.
C. Explore alternative funding source
As to fundraising, Cheng said that 2008 is the first time the DPP is trying a small contribution fundraising
campaign. People can make their contribution through credit cards, postal wire transfer service, or by
printing out the bar code from the DPP website and bringing it to any convenience store to make a cash
donation. The total amount received last year was 28 million NTD. The DPP will continue to push the
campaign this year. (For more information about small contribution fundraising campaign: please refer to
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http://www.dpp.org.tw/news_content.php?kw=&menu_sn=7&sub_menu=44&sn=3548)
Based on Taiwans political donation law:
1. Contributors have to be Taiwanese citizens.
2. Individuals annual donation to one political party cannot exceed 300,000 NTD.
Contributors name, id number, valid address, and phone numbers have to be listed.
3. Contribution less than 10,000NTD can be anonymous.
For original articles, please refer to:
http://law.moj.gov.tw/Scripts/newsdetail.asp?no=1D0020049
In addition to these small contributions, the DPP will also conduct a series of fundraising activities. Dr.
Tsai said, Public donations will still be the major funding source for the DPP. She believes that public
donations are very meaningful because public donations are not only a way to raise funds but also to
provide an opportunity to allow public participation and create a sense of ownership of the party.
Cheng said that in order to pay back the 1.8million NTD debt the DPP has, Dr. Tsai has been actively
engaged in fundraising efforts since she became the DPP chairperson and the DPP, so far, has
managed to payoff 1million NTD of the debt already. But there is still 0.8 million NTD debt to go, and we
will need more funding for the local elections at the end of this year, said Cheng, Fundraising is still our
major challenge. We will have to adjust how we get this done and maximize the use of our limited
resources. On the other hand, we learned from the news that the KMT has the capacity to provide from
0.5 up to 1 million NTD subsidies to their candidates. Like my colleague Legislator Chang Hwa-Kuan
said, This is the M society in Taiwans political landscape. Thus, we hope that the subsidy that
candidates receive from their party be regulated under the Political Party Act and Political Donation Law.
Also, we hope to amend the Political Party Act to have more clear regulations that a political party should
not make business profit out of its party assets.
Conclusion of Taiwan Citizen Conference on National
Affairs (Feb. 21-22)
The first phase of the Taiwan Citizens Conference on
National Affairs: Current Financial and Economic
Situations in Taiwan and the Impact on Social Security
was held on February 21-22 in the Howard International
House, Taipei. More than 300 people showed up in a
conference room with only about 200 seats. Four major
topics discussed in the conference were: the
unemployment problem, fiscal discipline and tax
reform, an economic rescue plan and financial
stability, and a social safety network.
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The following points summarize comments from panels and participants:
1. When the economy is underperforming, the government should place its priority on looking
after the working class. Standards defining low income households should be relaxed.
Unemployment compensation should be extended from six months to one year. Assistance for
small, medium, and micro-enterprises should be strengthened.
2. Short-term jobs created by the government
to combat unemployment should be in line
with the urgent needs of society today as
well as industrial development in the future.
Not only would they make a better
contribution to society, they would also
better link up with employment
opportunities in the future once the
economy picks up. The people want real
employment, not fake jobs.
3. The government should carry out DPP-era
policies such as promoting a knowledge
economy, cultural innovation, recreational agriculture, and service industries. Also, the
government should develop advanced, diverse, knowledge and innovation-filled emerging
industries. These domestic demand-oriented industries that can raise standards of living can
enhance national competitiveness, promote domestic industrial sector-based ties, and create
long-term employment opportunities for the future.
4. We should be reminded of the importance of community. In a period of economic decline, the
community provides security and support to the suffering. The government should quicken thepace of building up a complete social welfare structure, especially a long-term care structure
which would also create new jobs. The social welfare budget should take top priority in
increases, and the professionalism of the social welfare community should not be hijacked by
politics. We wish for the government to devote the budget and resources to build a long-term
care structure. This is also the focus of the DPP.
5. The economic crisis is not an excuse for the finance ministrys spending discipline to evaporate.
Therefore, funds for expanding investment in public projects should not be patronizing
small-scale construction. Instead, it should be used for forward-looking, economically effective
large-scale construction projects as well as assisting disadvantaged groups and providing
services for them.
6. Tax reform should be focused on the long-term tax structure. The fundamental goal is social
justice. It should not become a tool to stimulate the economy. The nation needs to maintain an
adequate tax base. The current bias towards cutting taxes for capitalists should be immediately
corrected. The minimum tax structure and taxing overseas income policies should continue to
be carried out.
7. Government finances, such as the effects of borrowing, tax cuts, corporate bailouts, and the
recession on the national coffers etc, should be more transparent and subject to monitoring.
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The government should also state how it plans to responsibly control the budget deficit.
8. Establish a complete bail-out mechanism. Pass a special bail-out law that would specify
principles, source of funding, sunset provisions, management of bail-out recipients, and
supervision of bail-out recipients. Set up a fair and impartial method of executing bail-outs with
transparent processes.
9. The central government should not exceed its boundaries and become a resource distribution
center for villages and townships, let alone use national resources for the purposes of
patronage for elections. Instead, funds should be released to city and county governments to
improve their financial condition. The Subdivision of Financial Income and Expenditure Law
should also be amended to establish a sensible allocation formula so as to narrow the
urban-rural gap and strengthen local governments.
10. In conducting cross-strait negotiations, China should first clear away all trade obstacles
and policies that are unfair towards Taiwanese products and businesspeople as well as
cease political interference. Taiwan should not rashly engage in a wholesale opening up
to China. Cross-strait negotiations should be transparent and be subject to the
monitoring of the legislature and society. The government should not sign the
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) without a social consensus.
A financial defensive mechanism should be set up before any cross-strait financial
interaction takes place so as to prevent manipulation.
Putting the Conferences Consensus into Action
A. Promote progressive legislation: the DPP legislative caucus participated in this conference. We
will bring the conclusions of this conference to the legislature and immediately propose and
push for progressive laws. We will observe how the KMT and government officials handle these
legislative proposals and evaluate the Ma administration based upon whether it sincerely gives
them consideration.
B. Keep watch over cross-strait economic activity: during the second phase of the Taiwan
Citizen Conference on National Affairs, we will carry out a comprehensive evaluation of
Mas China policy that hopefully will spur a dialogue among the participants over Mas
decision to link Taiwans economy to China. We will speak out on how peoples
livelihoods will regress should Taiwan lose its economic autonomy. Our legislative
caucus will get up to speed up party negotiations on related bills so that cross-strait
talks will become transparent and be subject to the legislatures monitoring. Moreimportantly, the DPP will be pushing for the right and a mechanism for the people to
directly participate in major cross-strait issues.
C. Pushing for political and social reform: second phase of the Taiwan Citizen Conference on
National Affairs will also address those concerns.
D. Connecting with social movements: we will continue to dialogue, communicate, and connect
with civic and social movement groups to form a clearer policy and platform. We will strive to
turn this platform into a social consensus. We wish to work together with social movement
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organizations and strengthen the partys idealism and sense of responsibility. This is the path
we must take.
In her closing remark, Dr. Tsai Ing-wen expressed her appreciation for all participants in the conference.
She said, We are here for only one hope and that is for the people of Taiwan to be able to safely
weather this economic crisis. Our purpose here is not to insult or irrationally blame any single person, but
instead provide constructive comments and dialogue.
As I was listening to the reports from the different groups, a thought came to my mind. If President Ma
Ying-jeou had attended, he would have observed
many ideas. We here do not have any executive power.
Nevertheless, we have expertise, we have experience,
we have creativity, and most importantly, we have
opportunities to interact closely with the day-to-day
lives of the grassroots. This is what President Ma does
not see, and this is his inconvenient truth. This is the
truth: the Ma administration has a very serious crisis of
governance. His team has already produced too many
examples of ignoring crises, promising the impossible,
making erroneous predictions, and ineffectively
executing policy. In the midst of such a perilous
economic environment, any misstep or mistake in the governments policymaking could possibly lead to
a permanent tragedy for a family, a society and a country.
If the ruling party is sincere in engaging in dialogue, we as the opposition party as well as all of the
specialists who have contributed their ideas to this national affairs conference are willing to respond,
she added.
DPP Public Survey Center:
Taiwans Unemployment and Economic Issues
The unemployment problem is getting worse; the public has lost faith in the governments economic
policy and its claim that further integration with China is the remedy for the economy
On February 26th, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) of the
Executive Yuan stated the unemployment rate in January 2009 was 5.31%, the highest January
unemployment rate in 31 years. However, based on a DPP Public Survey Center survey, the
unemployment rate could actually be 9.47%, meaning there are approximately 1.25 million people
currently out of work.
DPP spokesperson Cheng Wen-tsang said that this is an alarming sign. According to the 2002 to 2009
historical statistical data, the unemployment rate in January is usually lower than the December figure
due to the demand for part-time workers for Chinese New Year sales. However, this year has been
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exceptional- there is a 29,000 increase in the unemployed population compared to December 2008. In
fact, the unemployment numbers have been rising continuously for nine months, since last April;
unfortunately, the Ma administration has underestimated the seriousness of the unemployment problem.
Second, the rise in January unemployment indicated that the consumer voucher did not generate new
demands and thus create job opportunities as the government anticipated. Moreover, the usage of
consumer vouchers concentrated in a small number of big venders and crowded out businessopportunities for small venders, thus, there is no increase in total domestic consumption.
Third, the 5.31% statistic means 1.26 million people are affected. Many families have lost a major source
of income- many children cannot afford their meal plans, college students have temporarily suspend
their schooling to work part-time, house wives and retirees are forced to look for jobs to support their
families. More seriously, there are also many families who cannot afford their house loans and thus have
lost their homes. This will cause severe social problems.
Fourth, based on the DGBAS statistics, there are 162,000 people who lost their jobs since the Ma
administration came into power. Any policy impact on the job market should be carefully assessed. We
are sorry to see that the Ma administration has failed to do so. For example, the Ma administration has
rushed to sign the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) without any assessment.
Our worry is that once the CECA is signed, cheap Chinese products will have a tremendous impact on
Taiwans traditional industries and the agriculture sector, and this will result in even worse
unemployment and severe social costs.
Unemployment issue
* The definition of employed/unemployed adopted in the survey is the same as the one used by the
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics: a person who is looking for work and is currently
available for work but is unable to find a job. * Sample size: 1068
Involuntary unemployment accounted for half of total unemployment, and about 30 % ofthis category lost their jobs over the last three months.
Among the 11.9million employed population, 14.1% (about 2.71 million people) said theirsalary and working hours have been affected by the external economic environment with10% (about 1.92 million people) saying their salary has been reduced and 4.7% (about900,000 people) responded by saying that they have been forced to take unpaid leave .
Public confidence in the governments economic policy
3.3% of respondents agreed that the government has adopted effective measures toimprove unemployment while 63.5% of unemployed people answered that those
measures are ineffective.
74% of respondents said current economic policy is shortsighted and only emphasizes the
short-term effect instead of national development over the long run.
52% of respondents disagreed with the statement: Taiwans economy is bad right
now, so we should further strengthen our economic interaction with China.
(* Figures from pan-green respondents and swing voters are 79% and 64%
respectively.)
73% of respondents did not believe President Mas statement that the economy will become
better at the 2nd quarter of 2009.
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CEPA? CECA? OR ECFA?
Liberty Times interview with Chairperson Tsai on
On March 2, Dr. Tsai was interviewed by Liberty Times reporter Ms. Tzou Jing Wen . (*Thisinterview can be found at http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2009/new/mar/2/today-p4.htm)
Ms. Tzou: What is your response to Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Secretary-General Kao
Koong-lians () statement, Tsai is a scoundrel for criticizing CECA when she fullyunderstands it?
Dr. Tsai: I really do not know what their intentions are. And I dont think that I, the chairperson of the
opposition party, am alone in this, as most people in Taiwan do not know either. A recent media poll
showed that about 20% of the respondents supported the CECA, 30% were against it, and 40%
didnt know what a CECA is. Within the 20% who supported the CECA, 40% didnt know what
CECA was.
The governments cross-strait policy-making process has not been transparent at all since last
year. Most of the time we are kept in the dark concerning the dialogue that occurs between the
government and the Chinese side. We are just notified when decisions emerge from these
smoke-filled room negotiations. For example, when the Ma government announced that Chinese
envoy Chen Yunlin was going to visit Taiwan, it did not take into account the feelings of the Taiwanese
people, who had very negative feelings towards China at the time due to the contaminated milk scandal.
The government insisted, however, that Chen would still come to Taiwan. Also, President Maunexpectedly rescheduled his meeting time with Chen to avoid protests. Today, we are still unaware of
the details of a CECA, yet President Ma has insisted that there is an urgency and it must be signed
immediately.
As I see it, there are a few possible explanations for what is happening now. One is that the government
is reckless or even arrogant, and is oblivious to how policy should be conducted in a democratic country.
Ma simply makes a decision and then implements it without any thought toward developing a
society-wide consensus or even including public participation in the decision-making process.
Every issue with a subject matter that involves China, no matter how insignificant it may seem,
will inevitably draw major public attention and debates in Taiwan. Thus the government shouldapproach these issues with additional caution and transparency. However, we have not observed
any transparency with this administration. Maybe memories of their authoritative past have proved to be
too significant to erase. After enjoying eight years with the DPP in government, the Taiwanese people
have come to expect a more transparent decision-making process and consensus building from their
government.
Moreover, the Ma administration has not used this kind of decision-making style exclusively in
cross-strait issues. It has been true in other areas, such as massive spending projects like the Expand
Domestic Demand Program and consumer voucher scheme. It is really worrisome because this kind of
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careless decision-making comes with great risk, as these decisions carry significant long-term
consequences that severely impact the country.
Another possibility is that there might be some kind of mutual understanding or agreement made
between the KMT, the Ma administration and China during their negotiations. But our question remains:
what has been agreed to which has forced the government to take such haste in pushing their
cross-strait agenda? What is more dangerous for our country, and what really worries society the most,is if the government possessed a blueprint on Taiwan-China relations which it never revealed to anyone
else. We dont know if this blueprint is the collective efforts of the KMT and China or Ma just falling into
Chinas unification trap without realizing it. Without transparency in our governments interactions with
China and without a full disclosure of its overall policy on China, Mas statement about urgency has
really raised our doubts and concerns.
This government has completely forgotten that there are at least more than 40%of voters who still have
reservations about rapid liberalization of our relations with China. Even for those who voted for President
Ma, not all of them support a reckless cross-strait policy and the eventual goal of his policies - if what the
KMT has in mind is unification.There are at least two dimensions for any government when managing relations with China: the China
dimension and that of our own whole society. My feeling is that this administration has only concentrated
on the China dimension and completely forgot about public support, the public from whom the legitimacy
of his presidency derives.The Ma administration has commented that the CECA has been decided upon and approved thanks to
the Presidential election result. However, the platform Ma used during the campaign is different from
national policy. As a leader of a country, he has to coordinate and integrate different voices and
concerns. He seems to forget that when one negotiates with China, one cannot spontaneously
assume that China comes only with good will. There will be competitive as well as cooperativerelations between the two sides; You cannot let your guard down concerning Chinas intentions
and policy regarding Taiwan. In short, it seems that Ma is more afraid of the Taiwanese people than
he is of the Chinese government. He avoids keeping the public abreast of the negotiations and he has
continually made political concessions to China.
Ms. Tzou: Mr. Kao Koong-lian and President Ma have been on T.V. commenting that the CECA
is a purely economic matter. They also mentioned that you were involved in Taiwans
participation with the GATT and the WTO, thus you are supposed to act professionally and
prevent the CECA from becoming politicized.
Dr. Tsai: Wrong!. When the government first proposed the CECA, it was a political move, not aneconomic one. The government did not come up with the economic justification until opposition
from society became profound. The government tried to seek support from the petrochemical
industries, as well as other business conglomerates. But if these companies really needed a CECA, it
should have been those companies demanding government action and not the other way around.
If there is a problem exclusive to competition within an industry, then the industry should give a
comprehensive explanation of the problem. Then the government should conduct a
comprehensive analysis of the problem and seek all forms of solutions. Moreover, the
government should also include opinions from disadvantaged industries and workers who are
more vulnerable to the changes.
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Of course, I understand these economic and trade issues. What I dont understand is the way they are
trying to solve the problem and the political intention behind their approach.
Ms. Tzou: What would you do as a professional economist in this situation?Dr. Tsai: First off, the government quoted a 2004 report from the Chung-hua Institution for Economic
Research (CIER) that the impact of ASEAN+3 would be a reduction of 1% in Taiwans GDP. Similarresearch done in 2005 states there will be a reduction of .7%. This drop, though, will only affect Taiwan
in the long-term; while there will be no short-term impact. Also, the ASEAN+3 deal is still under
negotiation and yet to be finalized.
Second, ASEAN and Taiwan have different industrial structures. Most of our products dont compete
with products from the ASEAN countries. Japan is not our direct competitor either. The only possible
competitor is South Korea. But, taking the petrochemical industry as an example (which was identified
by the government as one of the reasons why there is an urgency to sign the CECA ), the tariff reduction
from 6.5% to zero will be a gradual change, not an immediate one. We eventually will have to deal
with ASEAN+3, but it is not so urgent that we have to sign a CECA with China as soon as
possible. The solutions proposed by President Ma are simply wrong. As for ASEAN+1, according
to CIER, the impact would be even more insignificant (0.15%).Ma said we should sign FTA with other countries. Unfortunately, everyone knows that the main
obstacle to this comes from China. Now if he wants to speed up the interaction with the very
source of the obstacle, then he will be falling into the trap set by China. With the help of the
current administration, China is restricting all the movements of Taiwan to the point that soon
its only move will be to go west towards China.
According to President Ma, the pressure of tariff is a major problem that has to be dealt with immediately.
But in actuality, managing this matter could be quite simple the World Trade Organization (WTO).Any WTO member would have conducted bilateral negotiations on tariffs; however, we did not have the
rounds of negotiations with China in our accession process to the WTO. As a member of the WTO,
China has the responsibility of holding bilateral discussions with us, either to discuss trade matters of
mutual concern, or we can raise specific issues that concern our trade competitiveness. In other words,
tariff concerns of the industries can be raised and discussed under the existing WTO framework
and it would not be necessary to deliberately create another framework just for this purpose. If
President Ma believes that ASEAN+3 will be harmful to our exports, there is another alternative,
using the framework of APEC. In APEC, there is a sectoral liberalization initiative, which promotes
zero tariff sector-by-sector, based on an order of priority reached by consensus amongst the member
economies. Taking the petrochemical sector as an example, should APEC member economies
recognize mutual benefits for all in the region, everyone will sit down and talk, and work towards zerotariff for the petrochemical sector. I can not understand why the Ma administration, instead of thinking
and talking about other alternatives, insists on telling the people that there is only one available option.
If we feel excluded from the process of Asian regional integration, the Ma administration should
reflect on this: with the extent of political concession President Ma has made towards China
since his inauguration on May 20th, why has he not been able to negotiate for a commitment from
China to let Taiwan sign an FTA with one of our key trading partners, without having China
protesting and creating obstacles?
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Ms. Tzou: President Ma quoted CIERs report that ASEAN+3 will cause 110,000 people to lose
their jobs. Whats your response to that?Dr. Tsai: In the CIERs report, the worst scenario is that Taiwans GDP will decrease by 1%. To say that
a 1% drop in GDP will result in 110,000 people being unemployed is an exaggeration. The projection is
probably based on the hypothetical situation where an entire industry disappears. Taking the
petrochemical sector as an example, its competitiveness is tied to its transportation cost, scale economy,product differentiation and so forth, tariff is not a key factor affecting its competitiveness. A tariff rate of
6.5% can be easily overcome in a few years. I fail to understand why there is necessity to exaggerate. It
is as if 110,000 will lose their jobs as soon as within the next year. Unemployment en masse does not
happen in a short time, it occurs gradually, and over time. During which, factories and workers make
adjustments and in some cases, make transitions into other industries. The study used by the
government is an extreme scenario that could not possibly happen; it is like threatening its own
people. The actions taken by the Ma administration reflects only political decision-making rather than
economic.
I want to emphasize that the DPP is not opposed to normalizing economic and trade relations
with China. But, this normalization has to be done under the framework of an international
agreement and must not hurt Taiwans sovereignty. If we have to further liberalize our economic
relations with China, the government must conduct comprehensive assessment, careful
planning and most importantly, seek public consensus.
Ms. Tzou: What President Ma proposed in his campaign platform was a Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement, CECA (), but now, he has renamed itan(Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, ECFA). Do you think thislatter is the same as his platform proposal?
Dr. Tsai: The government has been playing games with both names and politics. If you take a closelook at how things have evolved, at the beginning, Ma proposed a Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Arrangement, CECA. This indicates that what he had in mind was to have something
similar to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, CEPA signed between Hong Kong
and China. But after strong public opposition, he revised it to a normal FTA, and then later again, defined
it as a framework treaty () and said that it will only deal with tariff issues. Last Friday, heannounced that he is going to sigh a framework agreement ().
Treaty and agreement are different. A Treaty is between countries and requires stronger
supervision from the Legislature; in an agreement, on the contrary, sovereignty is less an issue. He
has been changing his position based on public reaction, and cutting down his proposal. Ms. Tzou: Whether a Treaty can really become agreement or not, Chinas attitude is also a
key. But so far China does not plan to sign a treaty with Taiwan. Does this mean President Ma
already made a concession before negotiation?
Dr. Tsai: Recently, many political figures from China, including Premier Wen Jia-bao, expressed their
support for signing this framework agreement with Taiwan. Apparently China has a clearer
understanding of this agreement than we do. President Ma has to explain to the Taiwanese people why
Chinas understanding is better than ours.
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Ms. Tzou: Vice Minister for Economic Affairs Lin said that in informal exchanges with a Chinese
counterpart, they thought there would be a comparative advantage if China and Taiwan were to
come to an agreement. What do you think?
Dr. Tsai: Whether Taiwan and China share comparative advantage in terms of its economic
development; what are the impacts on industries following economic integration; what is the extent ofconflict of interest between Taiwan and China in terms of our national objectives these are key national
issues and are not matters that can be simply carried out based on a common understanding reached in
an informal meeting between the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and an official from the
other side.
Ms. Tzou: In March the government plans to hold a forum on these issues. However, it seems
that not all sectors of society will be involved. Looks like a public relations effort. What do you
think?
Dr. Tsai: I think President Ma has set out his political agenda on China, and the economic issue issubordinate to his political time table. But, what is his political objective? If he disagrees with The
Washington Posts comments that a CECA/ECFA is the first step towards unification, then he has to
explain. Whats next after this agreement? Ma must tell us everything!
The government cannot use the name agreement to avoid supervision by the Legislature and then
smuggle in Mas political agenda. Government cannot just go ahead until there is no way to return, and
then tell people that they cannot do anything but give in. In Europe, even for non-political integration,
such as economic integration, it requires public approval through a referendum process. Thus,
we ask the government to have a referendum on this issue and enable people to voice their
opinions.
We have been listening to what people are saying and know that Taiwanese society feels anxious about
what the Ma administration has been doing. If the government doesnt explain clearly nor allow
people to vote on his proposal, Ma is putting this society at risk of further division. It will have a
grave impact on Taiwans democratic system and might radicalize our society. If this does happen,
the current ruling party has to take biggest responsibility.