Taiwan’s Ma seeks FTA with China
Daily Times, Pakistan
Taiwan’s Ma seeks FTA with China
3 July 2007
Reuters/Taipei: Taiwan presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou wants closer economic ties with political rival China, including a free-trade deal and the removal of investment caps on businesses that operate on the mainland, a spokesman said on Monday.
The candidate from the main opposition Nationalist Party, or the Kuomintang (KMT), is advocating the “common market” changes ahead of the March 2008 election to push Taiwan’s economy forward, campaign spokesman Lo Chi-chiang said.
Ma, who is also a former Taipei mayor, wants an end to the 40 percent cap on Taiwan firms investing in China, a policy designed to keep money on the island and reduce economic reliance on its giant neighbour.
Under the current cap, no more than 40 percent of any firm’s net value can be invested in its China operations.
He would also push for a pact similar to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) agreement that Hong Kong has with China, but not use the “CEPA” label for political reasons, Lo said. “It’s not the name that’s important, it’s the content that matters,” he said.
As a complementary move, Ma would try to establish Taiwan as a free-trade area similar to Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, Lo said. Ma first made the pledges on June 23, when he picked ex-premier Vincent Siew, a former economics minister, as his running mate. Siew advocated nearly identical economic policies when in office.
China and Taiwan split after civil war in 1949. Taiwan has ruled itself since then, but China still claims the island as part of its territory and has threatened to take it by force.
The two sides have no formal relations and few direct transportation links, causing complaints among the 750,000 Taiwan business people who are active in China’s growing market.
Despite political differences, China is Taiwan’s top trading partner and favourite investment destination.
Ma has also pledged to raise Taiwan’s GDP growth to 6 percent, from 4 to 5 percent since 2005.
He also aims to raise per-capita GDP to US$20,000 by 2011 and to lower the unemployment rate to less than 3 percent from the current 3.95 percent.
