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TRADE PACT SIEGE: Jiang chastises ‘unappreciative’ students
REJECTION: The premier said the issues protesters want discussed by a ‘citizens’ conference’ had been debated before and were not as urgent as regional integration
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
Premier Jiang Yi-huah, second left, raises his hand during a press conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday accused the students leading the movement against the cross-strait service trade agreement of failing to appreciate the “positive” responses the government has made to their demands, even as he rejected their call for a citizens’ constitutional conference.
Jiang called a press conference at 6pm to announce the government’s plan to organize a national affairs conference on economics and trade and to explain why he favored such a conference over the citizens’ conference the Sunflower movement wants held to address what it says are the nation’s constitutional and governance problems under President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.
All the recent controversies stem from the service trade pact, which reflects “worries among those opposed to the deal about the government’s planned course in the development of cross-strait relations,” Jiang said.
He said he was referring to other agreements to be negotiated with China under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed in 2010, such as on trade in goods, dispute settlement and investment protection, as well as the service trade pact.
“People are worried that the planned course will bring fundamental changes to cross-strait relations and wonder whether we are ready for the changes,” he said.
The issue that concerned the public was “not just an agreement over trade in services,” but problems that would “affect the nation’s economic future,” including the prospects of Taiwan joining regional economic blocs, such as the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, he said.
The issues proposed for a citizens’ constitutional conference — such as “the five-power Constitution, a presidential system versus a Cabinet system, legislative reform, judicial reform and others [that protesters said] have caused a constitutional deadlock” were “not urgent,” the premier said.
Issues that have been debated in the past and to which there are no viable solutions in sight are not the ones the public should now focus on, Jiang said.
He said that the national affairs conference would focus on three main themes: How does Taiwan face the trend of regional integration; what steps should Taiwan take to overcome challenges in its pursuit for regional integration and how do Taiwan’s relations with China affect its economic development?”
“Without thorough discussions on the issues, we will not be able to reach a consensus on how we should continue our relations with China,” Jiang said.
The national affairs conference could be convened in two months, once four regional conferences are held, he said. Conferences in the north, center, south and east of the nation would be attended by 120 representatives from industry, business, government, academia, political parties and civic groups, he said.
Between 180 and 200 representatives selected from the four regional conferences would participate in the national affairs conference in early June, he said.
Asked about the students’ unhappiness with his rejection of a constitutional conference, Jiang said it was “unfair” and “irrational” for them to accuse the government of giving them “the cold shoulder.”
The proposal to hold a national affairs conference on economics and the Cabinet’s draft bill to establish a supervisory mechanism on cross-strait agreements were both “positive responses,” he said.
source: Taipei Times
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