JUNE 2010

DEMOCRACY & PROGRESS

DPP Special Report on ECFA

On June 26, the DPP or-

ganized a Taipei parade to
call for a national referen-
dum on ECFA. DPP can-
didates for the Big-5 elec-
tions, Tsai Ing-wen, Chen
Chu, Su Tseng-chang, Su
Chia-chuan and Lai
Ching-te led the parade.
Former Vice President
Annette Lu, Former Pre-
miers Frank Hsieh and
You Si-kun were also pre-
sent to show their opposi-
tion to ECFA.
The DPP was also
joined by nearly 160 civic
organizations showing
their resolution to protect Taiwan’s interest against the Ma Administration’s push for closer relations with
China. The alliance mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets to voice their opposi-
tion to the current government's policy on China.
Earlier on June 3rd, the Executive Yuan's Referendum Review Committee rejected a referendum ini-
tiative proposed by the Taiwan Solidarity Union that would have allowed the people in Taiwan to decide
if the signing of ECFA was beneficial for Taiwan.

Parade for ECFA Referendum

... continued on the next page

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 JUNE 2010

Simultaneously, the DPP pub-
lished a public survey concern-
ing the public’s views on ECFA.
45.6% of the respondents said
they preferred ECFA to be signed
“after the government prepares a
set of measures” to manage the
possible impact of the agree-
ment. Also in the survey, 51.1%
said that dismissing the referen-
dum was not an appropriate deci-
sion, while 32.6% said it was
reasonable.
Based on the survey, the ut-
most concern of the public is
whether the government will be
able to establish a set of com-
plementary measures to guard
industries considered vulnerable
in the liberalization of trade with
China. The survey was con-
ducted on June 14 by telephone
among adults 20 years-old and
older. A total of 1,093 valid sam-
ples were obtained.

Latest DPP survey on ECFA shows reasons for concern

The Ma administration has set as
its goal the signing of ECFA with
China. As this is an important
issue for Taiwan, the DPP has
conducted various surveys re-
garding public reaction to ECFA
and, on June 24, the results of the
latest survey gives reason for the
DPP to show concern.
There are still nearly 70% of
the public who are unclear about
the contents and the impact of
ECFA. Even though the govern-
ment has repeatedly said that
ECFA will bring major economic
benefits for Taiwan’s economy,
the survey shows more than 70%
of the public believe these bene-
fits are only favorable to large
enterprises. Simultaneously, the
majority of the public showed
concern that after ECFA is
signed, the problem of lowered
wages, unemployment and the
wealth gap will get worse. • From a self-identified social
Based on the June 24 survey, class point of view, among
the following issues appeared to those who identified them-
be concerns of the Taiwanese selves as coming from the
public: “lower class”, there were
nearly 60% (58.8%) who be-
• 43.2% of the public believe lieve their personal income
that, after signing ECFA, their will be reduced after signing
personal income will be re- ECFA.
duced. Only
26.2% be-
lieve that
their per-
sonal in-
come will
increase
while
18.4% be-
lieve there
will be no
great dif-
ference. ... continued on the next page

PAGE 2

...latest DPP survey on ECFA
• 64.3% of the public believe that after ECFA,
their “financial burden” will increase while
13.9% believe it will decrease and 11% said
that it will remain about the same.
• Regardless of social class, the majority be-
lieve that, after ECFA, their financial burden
will continue to increase.
The following is the public’s view of the impact
of ECFA to Taiwan’s overall social environ-
ment:
• 52.3% of the public believe that, after sign-
ing ECFA, the unemployment problem in
Taiwan will get worse while 38.1% of the
public believe that it will improve.
• From a self-identified social class point of
view, those who identified themselves as
coming from the “lower class”, 67% believe
that the unemployment problem will get
worse. Among those who identified them-
selves as coming from the “middle class”,
the proportion between a pessimistic and
optimistic view regarding the unemployment
problem was 48% and 44% respectively.
Among those who identified themselves as
coming from the “upper class”, 53% believe
the unemployment problem will improve
while 39% said that it will get worse.
ECFA’s early harvest list begins to show the real damage
The DPP’s ECFA Subcommittee issued a state-
ment in response to the “early harvest list” pro-
duced in the June 24th meeting between the vice
chairmen of the Straits Exchange Foundation and
ARATS.
From the contents released so far by Taiwan’s
Ministry of Economic Affairs, the “early harvest
list” produces no realistic timeline that highlights
when the liberalization of goods and services will
take place. The list also proves that President Ma
Ying-jeou’s previous promises on protecting
JUNE 2010
... continued "om the previous page
• 86% of the
public believe
that, after
ECFA is
signed, the
wealth gap in
Taiwan will
increase
while 7.1% of
the public
believe it will
decrease.
• Regardless of
social class,
over 84% of
the public
believe the
wealth gap in Taiwan will become even
more evident after signing ECFA.
The survey was conducted by the DPP Survey
Center June 22 to 23. The sampling number
was 1,089 individuals with a sampling error of
approximately 3% and a 95% confidence level.
The survey was conducted by random selection
of telephone numbers among national voters
twenty-years old and above.
against Chinese goods and workers from entering
Taiwan were unfounded.
Based on a recent survey conducted by the
DPP regarding the public’s views on ECFA,
nearly 70% of the public said they were still un-
clear about the contents of the agreement. The
survey also reflected the fact that the majority of
the public were concerned that, after ECFA is
signed, the problems of unemployment, wage re-
duction and wealth gap will worsen.
Julian Kuo, spokesperson of the DPP ECFA
Subcommittee, said that Taiwan’s previous nego-
... continued on the next page
PAGE 3

ECFA’s early harvest list begins to
show the real damage
tiations under WTO included an open timeline,
and it was expected that the Ma Administration
would use the same standard to show an honest
approach to the ECFA process.
President Ma had also made a previous
promise that ECFA would bring great economic
benefits for Taiwan and it was imperative to
sign the agreement in order to “save Taiwan’s
economy”. The DPP ECFA Subcommittee says
that the “early harvest list”, however, will only
benefit large enterprises while mid-sized and
small companies will bear the early losses.
“The government continues to emphasize
that ECFA’s monetary income from the ‘early
harvest list’ is greater than China, but this ‘early
harvest income’ mainly favors the larger indus-
tries and overlooks the ‘early losses’ of Tai-
wan’s mid-size and traditional industries,” Kuo
said.
In regards to President Ma’s promise that
Chinese labor will not enter Taiwan, the “early
harvest list” shows that it will further liberalize
9 service industries from China. The DPP ECFA
Subcommittee says that it was unclear how the
government planned to prevent Chinese invest-
JUNE 2010
... continued "om the previous page
ment firms from bringing their own white-collar
workers into Taiwan as there are already 100
items in the service industry that are liberalized
under a government plan.
Furthermore, the DPP ECFA Subcommittee
said it was problematic that ECFA models after
the CEPA between China and Hong Kong,
which paved the way for a “One China” market.
“In the ECFA agreement, an ECFA Eco-
nomic Cooperation Council will be established
and it will include departments for follow-up
and dispute settlements, all of which are outside
executive, legislative and judi-
cial oversights,” Kuo said.
“When ASEAN Plus One only
incorporates a negotiating side
without any follow-up or dis-
pute settlement segments, the
DPP questions why Taiwan has
agreed to set up a model that
creates a One China market like
CEPA instead of following what
China is setting up with
ASEAN Plus One.”
The DPP has repeatedly ex-
pressed its concerns about
ECFA to the Ma Administra-
tion, calling on the government
to provide better explanation of the contents of
the agreement and make the process more
transparent. As this is an important topic for the
livelihood of Taiwanese citizens, the DPP and
the TSU along with civic organizations have
called for a referendum on ECFA, but has been
turned town by the Executive Yuan’s Referen-
dum Review Committee.
PAGE 4

JUNE 2010

DPP Central Executive Committee Statement on the 21st

Anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre

We believe that the Tiananmen Massacre is one changes that have taken place. We strongly urge
of the greatest tragedies in the history of modern the Ma administration to incorporate the values
China. Twenty-one years ago, when young stu- of democracy and human rights into the list of
dent activists called for democratic reform in issues for cross strait discussion so that Taiwan
China, the Chinese government cracked down and China can interact under these universal
on the movement through the use of force. To values. We strongly believe that when interact-
this day, there have been no signs of apology or ing with China, Taiwan should not lower its
regret expressed by the Chinese government for standards and abandon its values, especially not
the massacre. They have even tried to systemati- holding back on our democratic and human
cally erase any records or documents regarding rights principles.
the event, attempting to make Chinese citizens In the future, the DPP will continue to strive,
have no knowledge about the incident. We along with all people concerned about democ-
thereby appeal to the Chinese government to racy and human rights, to take positive and ef-
confront this painful part of its history, admit fective action, engaging in dialogue with Chi-
their mistakes and apologize to the victims as nese human rights organizations and civic
well as allow those who are in exile to return to groups so that democracy and human rights take
their home country. root in Taiwan and continue to thrive. At the
We also wish to express to the Chinese gov- same time, we hope the seeds of these values
ernment that although China in recent years has slowly blossom in China.
developed itself economically, it is still an
authoritarian country. China still causes other
countries to have a great doubt and fear, and it
continues to be considered a regional security
concern. We appeal to the Chinese government
to cease suppressing democratic reform and to
start launching a political reform movement, al-
lowing China to break away from dictatorship
and to embrace the universal values of democ-
racy, freedom and human rights.
Concerning President Ma Ying-jeou’s change
in attitude regarding the Tiananmen Massacre
since he took office by not discussing the mas-
sacre and even issuing a statement during last
year’s 20th anniversary “affirming the ad-
vancement of Chinese democracy”, we wish to
express deep regret. We severely reprimand to
the Ma administration for not discussing the
continued suppression of democracy activists in
China as well as China’s suppression of Taiwan-
ese values during the series of cross strait ex-

PAGE 5
 JUNE 2010

Hot Air Golden 10 Year Promise DEMOCRACY &

PROGRESS
Ever since the intensive debate on ECFA, President Ma has claimed
that the KMT will bring a Golden 10 Year Promise to the people in PUBLISHED BY:
Taiwan. The DPP seriously questions whether making this kind of
promise is what a responsible government should do. With the Ma Department of International
government's less than spectacular achievements since Ma became Affairs Democratic
president, his Golden 10 Year Promise appears doubtful. Progressive Party

It is even more irresponsible for Ma to blame KMT failures on ac- 9F, No. 30, Pei-Ping East
tions made of the DPP when it was in government. The statistics Road, Taipei, Taiwan
show that while the DPP was in office, the economy grew by a
healthy 4.44 percent, whereas under Ma the economy has shrunk by Tel: 886-2-2392-9989 ext. 306
0.19 percent. The average unemployment rate when the DPP was in
power was 4.28 percent, compared to 5.35 percent for the Ma ad-
Fax: 886-2-2393-0342
ministration. Furthermore, the average annual deficit under the DPP
was NT$17.54 billion, but it reached NT$27.44 billion just within
two years under Ma's government. Email: foreign@dpp.org.tw

The DPP knows very well that the KMT is all about “government by Website:
rhetoric”. The DPP doesn’t believe that the Ma government should http://www.dpp.org.tw
constantly entice the people of Taiwan with promises and deceive
them with false hope. Just to give an example, in the late 1990s, then
economic minister Vincent Siew proposed Taiwan as an Asian Pa-
cific transport and business center. While this plan was grandly pro- DIRECTOR:
claimed, to Taiwanese people’s dismay, the plan did not pan out at Bikhim Hsiao
all. President Ma's 633 Promises are another example of such KMT's
governance. Despite the imitation of South Korea presidential can- DEPUTY DIRECTOR:
didate Lee Myung Bak 747 Promises, the Ma government has failed Hsieh Huai-hui
to fulfill his 633 promises. It is clear by now that Ma Ying-jeou’s 10
Year Promise is simply hot air. For the past two years, the Ma ad-
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
ministration has focused on writing blank checks that his administra-
tion can't cash. Michael J. Fonte

EDITOR:
Ping-Ya Hsu

CONTRIBUTOR:
Stephanie Liao

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