http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/03/interview-taiwans-president Straight from Mr Ma's mouth Mar 28th 2014, 10:48 by The Economist The Economist interviewed Ma Ying-jeou, the president of Taiwan, on March 21st, 2014. The interview was used in the reporting of this week's lead note, as well as a Banyan column, and a portion was produced as a video, available here. The following is a transcript of our correspondent's interview, with translation from the Mandarin provided by the president's office. Q1. The Cross-strait Trade in Services Agreement has become a contentious issue in Taiwan. In the past few days, for example, students have occupied the Legislative Yuan. Why do you think there is controversy over the agreement? President Ma: In Taiwan, any matter that involves cross-strait relations will cause some degree of contention. Domestically, we have not yet reached a significant consensus on how we want to develop our relations with mainland China. The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is part of the Cross-Straits Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that we signed with the mainland four years ago. We had explained then that the ECFA is a big framework that would cover trade in services and goods, settlement of disputes, and economic co-operation. The current situation is caused mainly by a misunderstanding among the public that the TiSA was not put forth for public review. As a matter of fact, over the past year or so, the government has held 110 rounds of talks with 46 different sectors. But because most were small-scale, the public might not have known about them. At the same time, [relevant government agencies] have briefed the Legislative Yuan three times, but critics argue that the agreement would pose a major threat to Taiwan. For example, it would take away job opportunities. But the TiSA will not open Taiwan’s job market to mainland Chinese workers. Explicit restrictions are in place in Article 3 of the agreement. Then some people say that it would jeopardise Taiwan’s national security. In reality, Article 11 of the TiSA prescribes measures for exceptions, that is, restrictions could be imposed if it involved national security. Then there are others who say that the agreement showed disparity, with Taiwan opening more sub-sectors to the mainland than vice versa. This is not true either. Taiwan will be allowed access to 80 sub-sectors in mainland China. Many other sub-sectors have not been included in the TiSA because these had already been liberalised in 2001 [when the mainland joined the World Trade Organisation]. After the past several months of clarification, the true picture has become very clear. The current situation has developed because of a dispute that has arisen in the Legislative Yuan during deliberations over the TiSA. Ongoing disputes between the two major political parties have led to this situation. The best solution is to return to the original consensus. I believe there is a chance that the issue could then be resolved. Q2. What efforts will the government make to address the concerns of the people? President Ma: Last October, negotiations held between the ruling and opposition parties concluded that the TiSA would be subject to an item-by-item review and vote. The government too agreed with this approach. However, public hearings on the TiSA took more than four months, causing a lengthy delay. The different parties were concerned that this might cause misgivings in the international community and wanted to speed up the process. Since the debate began on March 10th, there have been many disagreements. When Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members were presiding over the meeting, they did not allow Kuomintang (KMT) members to express their views. When KMT members were presiding, DPP members occupied the podium. So eventually, KMT legislators decided that they would follow the regulations and deem the review to have been completed. I believe that such disputes concerning legislative review should be resolved through the Legislature’s internal negotiation mechanism. This would allow the review to proceed as originally planned. Q3. Are there differing opinions of the TiSA within the Kuomintang? President Ma: The KMT holds a unanimous view internally but differs greatly from the opposition. Q4. Some people say that Wang Jin-pyng has made no effort to push for the passage of the TiSA. Do you agree? President Ma: The KMT legislative caucus fully supports the TiSA. We can tell from the meeting convened on March 18th. Because Wang is President of the Legislative Yuan, he has to maintain a transcendent stance on all issues. Of course he wants the TiSA to be passed. He has in the past openly expressed support for the agreement. However, the procedure requires negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties. I think the best way forward is through internal legislative negotiation. Similar disagreements have occurred in the past and have eventually been resolved. When we signed the ECFA four years ago, the Legislature was the scene of fisticuffs. Some people were injured and sent for emergency treatment. Therefore, I hope that people can remain calm and find a solution to the issue. I believe that this can be resolved. Q5. If the TiSA is not ratified soon, how will it impact Taiwan’s trade relations with other countries and with mainland China? President Ma: If the TiSA is not ratified or if it has to be renegotiated, it could have serious consequences and be detrimental to Taiwan’s interests. External trade accounts for 70% of Taiwan’s economic growth. Taiwan has long performed well in external trade, but in the past ten years or so, countries around the world have signed free-trade agreements (FTA). Many countries want to do business with Taiwan, but when it comes to signing a FTA with us, they become hesitant, because of our diplomatic predicament. We managed to sign the ECFA with mainland China four years ago, which made it possible for us to sign an investment arrangement with Japan and economic co-operation agreements (ECA) with New Zealand and Singapore. Our international space has begun to expand. We also want to pursue similar deals with the United States and the European Union, and join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). However, if the TiSA is not passed, it would affect our signing of a trade in goods agreement with mainland China. As well, the international community would find it odd that Taiwan, while voicing an interest in joining in regional economic integration, is stalling domestically because of procedural issues. Our sincerity and determination would be questioned. Especially, if after signing the deal with the mainland, we then reverse course, we would no longer be creditable. We might be regarded as an unreliable trade partner. This would be most unfavourable as regards our international participation. Q6. Do you plan to meet with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping? President Ma: I have always maintained an open mind. Last year, we suggested that we could arrange a meeting at the APEC summit so we could avoid the use of official titles and because of venue concerns. The APEC summit is a custom-made forum, as participants represent not countries but economies. They are not addressed as presidents or premiers, but as leaders. The plan was devised long ago, and put in place over 20 years ago to avoid such political concerns. I thought that it would be a good opportunity and the people of Taiwan were very supportive of this idea. However, mainland China does not want the leaders of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to meet at an international event. We do not have an answer at this time. We hope that should an opportunity arise, we could create appropriate conditions and perhaps again consider it. As of now, we do not have another plan. 经济学人有声明说 这段访谈的内容已经出现在前两篇文章中，部分片段也制作成影音档 大家认为访谈全文逐字稿还有需要翻成中文吗? 想看的请推文，我再尽快翻译~ --

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