The KMT Connects with the World and then Mainland China, DPP Connects with Mainland China and then the World

News Release

KMT Cultural and Communications Committee

August 29, 2011

The KMT Connects with the World and then Mainland China, DPP Connects with Mainland China and then the World

The pan-Green camp accused the pan-Blue camp of connecting with Mainland China first and then the world, and stated that DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen insisted on connecting with the world first and then Mainland China.  Chuang Po-chun, Director of KMT Culture and Communication Committee, stated that the DPP connected with Mainland China first and then the world if one looked at what the DPP administration had done and what the KMT administration was doing.

Chuang Po-chun pointed out that the pan-Green camp stated that Tsai Ing-wen insisted on connecting with the world and then Mainland China, indicating that Tsai hoped to engage with Mainland under global norms and international regulations.   Chuang went on to say that in fact, the KMT administration pushed for joining GATT (WTO) and signed the cross-Strait ECFA in accordance with WTO regulations, and submitted the related ECFA documents to the WTO Secretariat.  Therefore, he said, what the KMT administration had done was really connecting with the world and then Mainland China.

Responding to criticism from the pan-Green camp, Chuang Po-chun stressed that the total investments on the Mainland by Taiwanese businessmen had been just US$ 15.3 billion in May 2000, but the figure increased to US$ 69 billion by May 2008 when the DPP administration stepped down.   Chuang Po-chun stated that the total Mainland investments increased US$53.7 billion in 8 years, adding that the DPP administration did not fight for the rights of Taiwanese businessmen on the Mainland and allowed them to be constrained by unspoken rules.  Chuang Po-chun stated that the DPP’s conduct was connecting with Mainland China and then the world.

Chuang Po-chun further pointed out that the KMT administration signed the ECFA with the Mainland, allowing Taiwanese businessmen to compete with their ASEAN competitors in the Mainland market on an equal footing, and engaged in consultations with the Mainland on signing a cross-Strait agreement on investment guarantees in order to safeguard Taiwanese businessmen’s interests.  Chuang Po-chun added that the DPP had done nothing when they were in power, but accused the KMT of connecting with Mainland China and then the world.  However, such ridiculous accusations actually showed the public which political party could lead Taiwan to the world, Chuang stated.

【Editor’s note: Tsai once said that the ECFA agreement would “sell out Taiwan, bring calamity to the country and people.”  When the DPP launched an anti-ECFA protest march, Tsai took the lead.  Subsequently, Tsai said that she did not oppose the ECFA per se, but she would propose that Taiwan should enter into talks with our other major trading partners about concluding FTAs and sign FTAs with all our major trade partners at the same time we signed the ECFA with the Mainland.  However, a commentator pointed out that before any two countries signed an FTA, they had to take into consideration each country’s particular circumstances and items of trade, so negotiations were usually protracted and the timing for inking an FTA unpredictable.  Consequently, it was unheard of for any country to sign a slew of bilateral FTAs with all major trading partners at the same time.  Didn’t a Ph.D. in International Economic Laws from the London School of Economics understand such a basic concept?】

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