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Taiwan's DPP vows to launch referendum on China trade deal

China's firms need approval for Taiwan expansion: Beijing
Chinese companies need official approval before they can invest in Taiwan, Beijing has said, even as it pledged it would encourage businesses to expand into the island. Chinese companies wishing to put money into Taiwan must first apply to the Ministry of Commerce and the Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office, according to a joint statement posted on the ministry's website. Investments in Taiwan must be mutually beneficial and are not allowed to hurt national security or "unification" of the mainland and the island, the statement said. The two sides have been governed separately since they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. The statement was dated Sunday, the same day Wang Yi, head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said Beijing would push mainland businesses to invest in Taiwan to help it weather the global economic crisis. Relations between Taiwan and once bitter rival China have warmed since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was elected a year ago. The two sides have since held three rounds of meetings and signed a raft of agreements that led to regular direct flights across the strait, a steep rise in Chinese tourists, and greater cooperation between the two.
by Staff Writers
 Taipei (AFP) May 18, 2009
 The leader of Taiwan's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Monday vowed to launch a referendum in a bid to stop the signing of a major trade pact with rival China.

"The DPP will get the endorsement of one million people in order to push for a referendum against the ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement)," DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen told a crowd in front of the presidential office.

"It will be our best weapon to balance the government and to oppose its pro-China (stance) and protect Taiwan," she said.

Thousands of DPP supporters joined an overnight sit-in starting late Sunday to protest against President Ma Ying-jeou's China-friendly policies, which they say have compromised the island's sovereignty.

The Ma administration is eyeing the pact -- similar in scope to a free trade agreement -- with Beijing to encourage a freer flow of goods and personnel across the Strait and to help the island tackle recession.

But the DPP has strongly opposed the deal, saying Taiwan could suffer politically and economically by rushing into an agreement.

Organisers said Monday's protest was scheduled to end at 22:00pm (1400 GMT) but some protesters have threatened to stay until Wednesday -- the first anniversary of Ma's administration.

The DPP said 600,000 people marched in the streets of Taipei Sunday ahead of the sit-in protest but authorities put the turnout at less than 80,000.

Relations between Taiwan and China, which split in 1949 at the end of a civil war, hit rock bottom due to the pro-independence rhetoric of Ma's DPP predecessor Chen Shui-bian but they have improved dramatically since Ma's inauguration last year.

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TAIWAN NEWS
Taiwan ruling party chief to meet Chinese president: KMT
 Taipei (AFP) May 14, 2009
 Taiwan's ruling party said Thursday its chief would fly to Beijing to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao later this month, in yet another sign of warming ties between the two former bitter rivals. Kuomintang (KMT) chairman Wu Po-hsiung is scheduled to depart for Beijing on May 25 "at the invitation of Hu," party spokesman Lee Chien-rung said in a statement. It said Wu would stay in Beijing ... read more






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