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Taiwan has no deadline for cross-strait trade pact: president

ROC Central News Agency

2010/02/09 20:05:37

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) Taiwan has not set a deadline for the conclusion of talks on a trade pact with China, President Ma Ying- jeou said Tuesday, one day after Taiwan's chief cross-strait negotiator said that the agreement is expected to be signed in May.

"There is no fixed schedule for the trade pact negotiations, " Ma said in the first in a series of press briefings to personally report on the progress of the negotiations.

"It is hoped that consensus will be achieved on some pressing issues before the signing of the pact," he said.

On Monday, Chiang Pin-kung, Taiwan's top negotiator with China, said that the cross-strait trade agreement is expected to be signed at the end of May, before the legislature goes into recess in June.

Meanwhile, Ma said there will be no political language in the trade pact.

"For example, terms such as 'one country-two systems, ' one China with different interpretations' and 'peaceful unification' will not appear in the pact," he said amid concerns that China is using its economic power to promote unification with Taiwan.

He also said that after the agreement is signed, there will be no need for hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese to seek jobs in China, as Taiwanese businesses will no longer need to relocate to there, but instead will set up their bases in Taiwan.

The trade pact will also attract more foreign companies to invest in Taiwan, he added.

On the issue of legislative oversight, he said that ministry officials have given several briefings to lawmakers since Taiwan and China began negotiations to further liberalize trade between the two sides.

"This operational model has worked well and is, in effect, a cross-strait task force," he said.

Further discussions will be required in order to decide whether there is need for a special task force to oversee the negotiations and whether its functions would conflict with those of existing legislative committees, he added.

Hours earlier, opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Lee Chun-yee said that the current legislative committees cannot adequately oversee the trade agreement negotiations. He also noted that the legislature already has several special task forces to deal with various issues.

At Ma's press conference, which drew large numbers of local and foreign reporters, he directed most of his comments to local farmers and workers, detailing reasons why Taiwan needs to sign a trade pact China.

Amid fears that farmers and laborers would suffer as result of the agreement, the president pledged not to import Chinese workers or to open the Taiwan market to more Chinese agricultural products. (By Alex Jiang) ENDITEM /pc