As a start, I know it’s officially the Review Committee, but it’s KMT dominated so really it’s the same thing.
So the Committee vetoed the referendum on the ECFA because according to the chairman the question “was not clear enough”. Also the public was being asked to vote on something that wasn’t a concrete policy yet.
LOL, what absolute rubbish! I was expecting the Committee to block it because the KMT don’t want a referendum but this is so dumb! The question isn’t clear? It’s bloody clear - do you want a vote on the ECFA or not! As for it not being set in stone, we know full well it’s going to happen. The referendum process takes time, so if people want a vote on it the referendum to get that vote to take place has to be held reasonable soon.
So there’s no point in appealing because the KMT, sorry Cabinet/appeal people, will block it too.
Why is it the KMT don’t trust the people? Every time there’s been a referendum proposed they’ve tried to have it blocked before it has even been held. Then when approved they’ve called for the public to boycott them or instructed KMT officials at voting stations to discourage people to participate, even for their own motions!
I wasn’t sure whether it would be pass the committee.
Assuming it had, if I had to bet everything I own I’d say it wouldn’t get enough votes. But I wouldn’t have said it had no chance of passing either as many people who would support the ECFA might well like a vote on it too.
Not surprising and probably the right call (although maybe for the wrong reasons).
A referendum would be a waste of time and money - the pro-greens would vote against, the pro-blues would vote for. It wouldn’t matter what was in the ECFA. It could be the best thing for TW, or it could be the worst. Doesn’t matter, votes would still be along party lines.
Since when were all Taiwanese hard-line green or blue? Not everyone votes along party lines. Many might have sympathies one way or another, but not to the point you describe.
[quote=“cfimages”]Not surprising and probably the right call (although maybe for the wrong reasons).
A referendum would be a waste of time and money - the pro-greens would vote against, the pro-blues would vote for. It wouldn’t matter what was in the ECFA. It could be the best thing for TW, or it could be the worst. Doesn’t matter, votes would still be along party lines.[/quote]
And what would those in the middle do?
Not the right call. It makes a mockery of the right to referendum in the Constitution. Once again shows that the KMT are against the democratic rule of law and against listening to the will of the people.
Yes, apparently it was signed yesterday. Strange no one started a new thread on it.
Taiwan, China sign historic trade deal
[quote]Mainland China and Taiwan signed a historic free-trade agreement Tuesday that is expected to strengthen ties and reduce the potential for cross-strait tensions.
Officials signed the Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement, or ECFA, in Chongqing, China. Under the deal, China will cut tariffs on 539 items from Taiwan valued at $13.8 billion, or about 16 percent of the island’s 2009 exports to the mainland.
Taiwan will cut tariffs on 267 items from China worth $2.86 billion, or about 10.5 percent of the country’s shipments to Taiwan in 2009. [/quote] edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiap … pBxwv8EImv
Just had a preview of the AmCham white paper for this year. Pretty funny – totally dismissive of the benefits of the ECFA. Basically it says: “Fuck the FUCK off! The Ma goonsquad has got to be even more stupid than it looks if it really believes the shite its spouting! Pull your socks up, dumbos! You’re crap and we know it!”
(I’m paraphrasing, of course – it doesn’t actually say “goonsquad.”
[quote=“sandman”]Just had a preview of the AmCham white paper for this year. Pretty funny – totally dismissive of the benefits of the ECFA. Basically it says: “Fuck the FUCK off! The Ma goonsquad has got to be even more stupid than it looks if it really believes the shite its spouting! Pull your socks up, dumbos! You’re crap and we know it!”
(I’m paraphrasing, of course – it doesn’t actually say “goonsquad.”[/quote]
It does? I just read the introduction and it was completely positive. Is you being funny? It’s so hard to tell with scots.
[quote=“Mucha Man”][quote=“sandman”]Just had a preview of the AmCham white paper for this year. Pretty funny – totally dismissive of the benefits of the ECFA. Basically it says: “Fuck the FUCK off! The Ma goonsquad has got to be even more stupid than it looks if it really believes the shite its spouting! Pull your socks up, dumbos! You’re crap and we know it!”
(I’m paraphrasing, of course – it doesn’t actually say “goonsquad.”[/quote]
It does? I just read the introduction and it was completely positive. Is you being funny? It’s so hard to tell with scots.[/quote]
“Taiwan needs to do much more. The ECFA is not nearly enough on its own to attract foreign investment” is what I read. I didn’t think it was terribly positive at all.
Here’s the executive summary, available online. Actually it is worth reading to see some of the accomplishments of the past year such as a restructuring of the exectutive to take place in 2012. Reducing departments and inefficiencies has been on the agenda for a long time. Mind you they also think the reduction of the corporate tax rate is a great accomplishment when economists in Taiwan have panned it.
Well, a lot of things in Taiwan’s past used to get me all stirred up until I realized that to most people, they are distant memories. I began to be comfortable with this idea, to the point where, not long ago, I began to experiment with treating recent events here as distant memories, reasoning that one day they will be, so why not improve on nature a little–you know, get an early start on it? So far it’s working out pretty well.
Dang, I lost my point in all that. Oh: Maybe no one has started a thread on it because they’re also getting an early start on treating it as a distant memory.
