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Taiwan requests FTA talks with the US
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-05-31 09:30 Ignoring Beijing's latest
offer to open preparatory talks on across-Strait free trade arrangement,
Taiwan's leader Chen Shui-bian is requesting a FTA negotiation with the United
States.
Meeting John Rockefeller IV, US Democratic Senator from West
Virginia, in Taipei on Monday, Chen said that Taiwan desperately needs a free
trade agreement (FTA) with the United States to protect itself against Chinese
mainland's growing economic dominance.
"China has been negotiating
agreements with countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America in an attempt to
marginalize Taiwan ... making Taiwan unable to breathe in the international
community," the Associated Press quoted Chen as saying.
Analysts in the
mainland said that Chen Shui-bian was ignoring Beijing's call for talks leading
to closer economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait. And, there is a growing
demand among Taiwan businesses to forge closer economic and trade arrangement
between the island and the mainland.
During the visits to the mainland
by Taiwan's two largest opposition party leaders, Mr Lien Chan of KMT
(Kuomintang Party) and Mr James Soong of People's First Party, Beijing offered
to open initial talks on across-Strait Free Trade Agreement, seeking win-win
between Taiwan and the mainland. However, Taiwan authorities led by Chen has not
responded positively to the proposal.
Chen Shuibian told the US Senator
on Monday that he hoped "the US Congress would take active steps to sign a free
trade agreement with Taiwan, so that the world would not tilt towards
China".
Mainland analysts said Chen was concerned that a closer economic
link, such as FTA, will lead to closer people-to-people contact and amiability
between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, eroding Chen's pro-independence
constituency.
On a visit to Washington last year a delegation from the
American Chamber of Commerce insisted a free trade agreement with Taiwan would
be premature, singling out pharmaceuticals, intellectual property rights
protection and government procurement as areas where the island needed to
improve before a trade pact would be appropriate.
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