Taipei Times
Date: Nov 03, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
The cross-strait trade in goods agreement talks should be halted, as the deal would harm
Green Party-Social Democratic Party alliance members gesture in Taipei yesterday as they call on the government to halt talks on the cross-strait trade in goods agreement. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
the interests of workers and farmers, Green Party-Social Democratic Party alliance candidates said yesterday.
“Our salaries are already low and work hours long enough — how can the government keep harming us, even forcing us to eat contaminated food if the agricultural market is opened up?” alliance legislator-at-large candidate Chang Li-fun (張麗芬) said, adding that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration is pushing forward negotiations on the agreement prior to the passage of supervisory regulations by the Legislative Yuan.
Passage of regulations mandating greater transparency in negotiations with China was a key demand of last year’s Sunflower movement — a student-led action in response to the government’s handling of trade talks with China — with protesters demanding the regulations be passed prior to any further negotiations.
Taipei City Confederation of Trade Unions board of supervisors convener Chiang Wan-chin (蔣萬金) said the agreement would hurt workers’ interests by exposing them to further competition from cheap Chinese labor, forcing businesses in affected industries to shed workers and cut wages. [FULL STORY]
