Taiwan activists want to rally 1 million protesters against ECFA with China on June 6
Taiwan News 2010-04-14
Taiwan activists want to rally 1 million protesters against ECFA with China on June 6
Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan-centric groups said Wednesday they wanted to rally 1 million people on June 6 for a protest against government plans for an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with China.
President Ma Ying-jeou has insisted Taiwan should sign the accord in June, even though negotiations are still waiting to be completed.
“In any event, the protests should take place before the signing of ECFA, so either in late May or early June,” said Yao Chia-wen, one of the organizers of the protest and a former chairman of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party.
After the meeting, the groups announced they had chosen June 6 as the date for the protests. The chosen day also roughly coincide with the second anniversary of Ma’s inauguration on May 20.
The protest was expected to be split over Taipei and Kaohsiung, but even before the official date, local actions would feature white-collar employees and students, reports said. The opposition says the ECFA will cause massive unemployment in Taiwan because Chinese citizens will be allowed in to work at lower wages. The government denies the opposition charges.
Yao’s Taiwan National Alliance held talks Wednesday with representatives of the DPP, the smaller Taiwan Solidarity Union, the Northern Society and other groups to work out the details. Some activists reportedly want follow-up protests outside the Legislative Yuan and the Presidential Office building.
In conjunction with the street protests, the TSU is collecting signatures in a campaign for a referendum about ECFA. The party plans to announce the results of the drive on April 23 before handing in the signatures to the Central Election Commission. The organizers said earlier that if the government’s referendum review committee turned down its request, it would also hold a mass protest.
On April 25, DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen will take to the stage in a televised debate with Ma about ECFA. The opposition has criticized the government for its unwillingness to provide documents about the contents of the ECFA negotiations. The refusal will put Tsai at an unfair disadvantage, the DPP said.
