President Ma, Chairman Su, and the Free Trade Zone

President Ma, Chairman Su, and the Free Trade Zone
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
May 29, 2012

Summary: We hope the ruling and opposition parties can reach a bipartisan consensus. We hope they can establish a Free Trade Zone, as a prelude to the TPP and a Free Trade Island. If they cannot, then we suggest turning Greater Taichung or Greater Taipei into pilot projects. Transform them into harbingers of the future for all Taiwan. We must not allow the DPP to repeat its mistakes.

Full Text below:

Su Tseng-chang has been elected Democratic Progressive Party Chairman. President Ma Ying-jeou phoned and congratulated him. He invited Su to hold ruling and opposition party talks. Su agreed, saying "Yes, yes." Afterwards they expressed their willingness to keep their appointment. They agreed that the the ruling and opposition parties must ensure the peoples' welfare and reduce the peoples' suffering.

The nation is besieged with problems. Ma and Su can of course discuss anything they wish. But we hope they will focus their attention on the Kaohsiung Free Trade Zone. They should look to the future. This is the key that will open a hundred doors. This project is vital to the future of the nation.

The Ma administration announced that it would set up a Free Trade Zone in Kaohsiung. In the months since, DPP leaders have yet to respond. Chen Chu was both DPP Chairman Pro Tem and Mayor of Kaohsiung. Yet she said nothing about the Free Trade Zone. Do DPP leaders support the project or not? Do they want revisions for improvements? So far we have no idea.

A few days ago DPP Legislator Hsu Tien-tsai finally spoke out. He said the Free Trade Zone unilaterally opened itself to Mainland China. He said it embodied "one country, two regions" political thinking. He said it was a policy blunder that could undermine Taiwan's economy, trade, and the peoples' livelihood. He said it ran a real risk of "selling out Taiwan." He said the Free Trade Zone could be a way for Mainland China to enter the Taiwan market and establish an SAR. He accused Minister of Economic Affairs Ying Chi-min, who presides over the project, of being the "Wu San-kuei of Taiwan's economy."

Hsu Tien-tsai's allegations about the Free Trade Zone bear no resemblance to reality. If anything, the Free Trade Zone is a pilot program for gradual trade and economic liberalization. Consider it preparatory work for the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement). Its ultimate goal is to establish Taiwan as a Free Trade Island.

Hsu Tien-tsai's allegations are nonsense. One. The goal of the Free Trade Area is to join the TPP. Its purpose is to move towards a Free Trade Island. Its purpose is obviously not to enable Mainland China to enter the Taiwan market and transform Taiwan into an SAR. It has nothing to do with political disputes over "one country, two regions." Two. The opposite is true. Its goals are TPP and a Free Trade Island. These will reduce cross-Strait economic and trade dependency. These will help integrate Taiwan into the international trade system. The Free Trade Zone and TPP will establish deep-rooted international economic and trade relations. These will bolster the Republic of China' political stature and increase its national security. Therefore the Free Trade Zone is a plan to save Taiwan, not "sell out Taiwan."

Taiwan today faces a dilemma. It has powerful economic and trade competitors such as South Korea. Several of these competitors have signed FTAs. Taiwan's primary export market and trading partner is Mainland China. It has signed or will sign FTAs with Taiwan's major competitors. Taiwan hopes to reduce dependency on the Mainland. The effectiveness of ECFA is gradually being weakened by other nations' FTAs. If we do not join the TPP, Taiwan will be economically and politically marginalized. Taiwan will be in dire straits. In order to save Taiwan, why not start by establishing a Free Trade Zone?

It should be obvious to all. A Sword of Damocles hangs over the island. Can Taiwan join the TPP and become a Free Trade Island? Taiwan still lacks political and economic support. The going will be tough. If Taiwan cannot join the TPP and become a Free Trade Island, it will not escape economic and political marginalization. Besides, Taiwan is still undergoing liberalization. The tug of war between "giving and taking" remains intense. Even if the ruling and opposition parties on Taiwan reach an agreement, the going will remain tough. If the ruling and opposition parties cannot agree, the going will be impossible. Taiwan will be denied a new lease on life.

The Ma administration proposes establishing a Free Trade Zone, as a prelude to the TPP, and eventually a Free Trade Island. We now await the DPP's response. The pilot project is in Kaohsiung, which is under Green administration. Fortunately, Hsu Tien-tsai's charges are still considered "personal opinions." But if his rhetoric becomes official DPP policy, the party will find it difficult to change course. Therefore we hope that when President Ma and Chairman Su meet, they will affirm the value of the Free Trade Zone. For one thing it will broaden the horizons for the DPP. For another it will rescue Taiwan from concurrent crises.

Hsu Tien-tsai's allegations essentially parrot the allegations the DPP made against ECFA over the past five years. They say cross-Strait exchanges and ECFA "sell out Taiwan," and "humiliate the nation." They call it a "Trojan Horse." They say "it will leave workers on Taiwan unable to find work, and women on Taiwan unable to find husbands." These allegations are worse than cliches. They are inversions of the truth. The DPP held high the anti-ECFA banner during the 2012 election, only to suffer a painful setback. Does the DPP really intend to hold high an anti-free market banner as it heads into the 2016 general election?

We hope the ruling and opposition parties can reach a bipartisan consensus. We hope they can establish a Free Trade Zone, as a prelude to the TPP and a Free Trade Island. If they cannot, then we suggest turning Greater Taichung or Greater Taipei into pilot projects. Transform them into harbingers of the future for all Taiwan. We must not allow the DPP to repeat its mistakes.
 
馬總統速邀蘇主席談自由經濟示範區
【聯合報╱社論】
2012.05.29 02:59 am

蘇貞昌當選民進黨主席，馬英九總統致電道賀。馬在電話中邀請蘇進行朝野對談，蘇在電話中連稱「好、好」，事後又表示願意赴約，以期朝野共同為人民創造福祉、減少痛苦。

國事經緯萬端，馬蘇見面自可無話不談，但我們認為，會談的核心主題應是：在高雄設立自由經濟示範區。因為，瞻望前路，這是個一脈通、百脈通，提綱挈領的國政綱領。

馬政府宣布將在高雄設置自由經濟示範區後，數月以來，民進黨中央幾乎完全未見回應；甚至連陳菊兼具民進黨代理主席及高雄市長雙重身分，亦對示範區未置一詞。因而，民進黨中央對此案贊成與否，或有何修正改善意見，迄今不得而知。

數日前，民進黨立委許添財首先發難稱，自由經濟示範區是單方向對中國開放，以符合「一國兩區」的政治思維，無視政策錯誤可能對台灣造成經貿及民生上的影響，而有「賣台」之實；他認為，自由經濟示範區將是專為中國進入台灣市場而打造的特區，並指主持此案的經建會主委尹啟銘為「台灣經濟的吳三桂」。

許添財對自由經濟示範區的指控，完全偏離事實；實則，自由經濟示範區，是對台灣經貿自由化的一個漸進化與區域化的試點，藉此做為加入ＴＰＰ（跨太平洋夥伴協議）的前置工程，而以建設台灣為「自由經貿島」為終極目標。

許添財的指控，其謬誤顯而易見：一、示範區是以加入ＴＰＰ為目標，亦即以邁向「自由經貿島」為宗旨；既絕非專為中國進入台灣市場的特區，更與「一國兩區」的政治爭議毫無關聯。二、正好相反，既以ＴＰＰ及「自由經貿島」為目標，即是欲藉此一設計降低並改善兩岸經貿依存關係，使台灣融入國際經貿體系，並藉示範區及未來ＴＰＰ所建立的盤根錯節的國際經貿關係，來強化、深化台灣的政治及國防安全。因而，示範區是一個徹頭徹尾的「救台計劃」，而絕不是「賣台」。

台灣今日所處危境，簡略而言即是：台灣經貿的強力競爭對手（如韓國），幾已完成全球架構的「ＦＴＡ網」（自由貿易協定）；而台灣的主要市場及協作地區中國大陸，亦已經或即將與台灣的主要經貿競爭國家簽成ＦＴＡ網。在此情勢下，一方面台灣若要降低對中國大陸的依存關係，而ＥＣＦＡ的機能亦因各國ＦＴＡ的包夾而逐漸趨弱，則台灣若再不以加入ＴＰＰ為目標，屆時台灣在經濟與政治上的複合式邊緣化，將對台灣形成致命性的風險。為了救台灣，如何不該從自由經濟示範區做起？

有目共睹，懸在台灣頭上的利劍是：如果台灣能加入ＴＰＰ，實現了「自由經貿島」的目標，台灣在政治及經濟上的撐持，仍將十分艱辛；而倘若台灣不能加入ＴＰＰ及完成「自由經貿島」的目標，則台灣在經濟及政治上的複合式邊緣化即無可逃避。何況，全面自由化的過程中，由於「取與給」的衝突皆十分強烈；台灣若朝野兩黨一致，尚且不易通過考驗，何況朝野兩黨倘續分裂，則台灣將絕無機會度此難關，獲得新生。

由於「從自由經濟示範區到ＴＰＰ到自由經貿島」，是馬政府提出的方案；現在所等待的是民進黨的表態，何況試點所在的高雄又是綠色執政。所幸許添財現在的指控，目前尚停留在「個人意見」的層次；一旦這套論述成為民進黨中央的政策，事情即難有轉圜的餘地。因而，我們希望，在蘇主席與馬總統會面時，對自由經濟示範區的議題，能有正面的表態，一以為民進黨開闢一條較寬廣的前路，一以解救台灣於複合式的政經危機之厄。

其實，許添財的指控，幾乎是全盤抄襲民進黨四、五年來反對兩岸交流及ＥＣＦＡ的指控；什麼「傾中賣台」、「喪權辱國」、「木馬屠城」及「查甫找無工、查某找無尪」等等，非但是陳腔濫調，更且是顛倒黑白。民進黨既經扛著反ＥＣＦＡ大旗進入二○一二大選的慘痛經驗，如今難道又要揹著反自由經濟示範區的黑鍋走向二○一六大選？

我們希望，朝野二黨能在「從自由經濟示範區到ＴＰＰ到自由經貿島」的政經大計上，建立兩黨一致（bipartisanship）。如果破局，則我們建議，不妨改以大台中甚至大台北為試點，整個台灣的命脈前景，不可讓民進黨一誤再誤！