Patience promises a rosy cross-Straits future

• Source: Global Times
• [00:46 June 30 2010]
• Comments

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou used a poetic metaphor to comment on the tariff-slashing economic pact signed Tuesday.

He said that with the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), peace and prosperity are no longer "roses on the horizon." They have become "touchable" instead.

True, after the historic cross-Taiwan Straits trade deal, the promise of a rosy future appears more real and nearer.

While the long-awaited pact would boost cross-Straits trade, which already totals about $106 billion in 2009, it would be premature for the mainland to expect that the economic gains would soon turn into a driving force for political reunification.

The trade pact, inked after a five-year-long negotiation between the Beijing-based ARATS (Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits) and the Taipei-based SEF (Straits Exchange Foundation), is seemingly lopsided.

There is no denying that some long-term political considerations are involved in the concessions made by the mainland to give Taiwan a bigger share of the pie. These political considerations are on the ground that we are all from one big Chinese family, and every family member deserves a fair share in the prosperity of the Chinese nation.

The mainland has the responsibility, and capabilities, to help Taiwan economically, and let compatriots in Taiwan continue to reap the gains of its economic boom rooted in ECFA.

But there is still a small section of people in Taiwan, that is suspicious of Beijing's motives. Some even go so far as to protest publicly against the pact, and defame it, disregarding the enormous benefits brought to them by free trade.

The situation is further complicated by the US power play manifest in arms sales to Taiwan. As Washington has been using Taiwan as a card for political gains, its role in Taiwan continues to be a major hurdle to peaceful cross-Straits reunification.