Commentary

ECFA referendum proposal moves to next stage

• Publication Date：05/05/2010
• Source： Liberty Times

A proposed referendum on the cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement will be sent to the Cabinet-level Referendum Review Commission following its approval by the Central Election Commission May 4.

The referendum asks voters to state whether they agree that the government should sign an ECFA with mainland China, according to the Taiwan Solidarity Union, which initiated the proposal along with 50 civic groups.

The referendum proposal is the second on the controversial ECFA issue. The first, submitted by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party last year, was turned down on the grounds that it addressed a hypothetical situation and failed to satisfy legal requirements.

The DPP protested this decision to the Cabinet-level Petitions and Appeals Committee, arguing that the commission should not reject a referendum proposal based on content alone. The party’s case was thrown out in February.

According to the CEC, the latest ECFA referendum proposal is backed by 109,720 signatures, more than the 86,608 as required under the Referendum Act. The legal minimum is 0.5 percent of the 17.32 million eligible voters in the previous presidential election.

In related news, TSU officials said the ECFA has been a topic of hot debate in Taiwan over the past few months. In seeking a greater say for the public on the controversial trade pact, many groups are staging civic action campaigns.

Today’s anti-ECFA march, which is taking place in Beidou Township, Changhua County, is one such example. The organizer, an alliance of 160 civic groups from across the island, expects to hold 15 grass-roots seminars on the ECFA and referendum issues during the event.

An ECFA protest rally, organized by the Taiwan Association of University Professors and led by former ROC Premier Frank Hsieh, will be staged in Taipei May 20. (PCT-JSM)