Island authorities' WTO plan criticized

A Chinese mainland spokesman slammed the Taiwan authorities led by Lai Ching-te on Wednesday for an attempt to internationalize the Taiwan question by trying to discuss issues concerning a cross-Strait economic agreement through the World Trade Organization.

The move harbors a hidden agenda of seeking "Taiwan independence", said Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, noting that the approach will not succeed.

Chen made the remarks at a news conference in response to a media query regarding reports that Taiwan's mainland affairs council expected to resolve issues related to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement through the WTO mechanism.

"The 1992 Consensus is the political foundation for cross-Strait consultation, and 23 cross-Strait agreements, including the ECFA, have been signed on the common political basis of the 1992 Consensus," Chen said.

The two sides of the Taiwan Strait signed the agreement to promote cross-Strait trade liberalization, which should have been carried out based on the normalization of cross-Strait trade, Chen said.

However, considering that both sides belong to the same family, the mainland agreed to advance trade normalization and liberalization simultaneously and implement the "early harvest program" of the agreement, despite the abnormal and discriminatory situation in which the Taiwan authorities continue to restrict the entry of over 2,000 agricultural and industrial products from the mainland, Chen added.

In light of the economic conditions of both sides, the mainland did not require equal quantities or trade volumes of products during the implementation of the early harvest program, he said.

Chen said such a favorable agreement, which unilaterally benefits Taiwan, would not have been possible if everything had been in line with WTO rules.

Xinhua