Taiwan protests China's 'economic oppression'

Taipei, Oct. 12 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Saturday protested what it called China's "economic oppression" against Taiwan, after the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said earlier in the day that it is considering possible countermeasures because Taiwan has failed to remove trade barriers against goods from China.

In a statement, the MAC, the top government agency in Taiwan that supervises exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, expressed regret over any such measures but said the government will continue its efforts to minimize any adverse effects they may cause.

China's MOC said the ministry determined in mid-December 2023 after a probe that Taiwan's restrictions on the import of more than 2,000 products from China constitute trade barriers and called for their removal, but added Taipei made no meaningful effort to do so.

Related agencies in China are studying the possibility of taking further action against Taiwan's trade restrictions, according to the MOC.

In response to the MOC's remarks, Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮), spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) under China's State Council, said the TAO strongly supports further action against Taiwan's trade barriers.

Zhu blamed the failure of Taiwan to take any action, after an investigation into trade restrictions imposed by Taiwan launched by the MOC in April 2023, on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which she said stubbornly insists on Taiwan independence and rejects "the 1992 consensus," which undermines the political foundation for negotiations to resolve cross-strait disputes.

Taiwan bears full responsibility for the situation, Zhu said.

The investigation, launched in response to requests by several Chinese chambers of commerce, was aimed at determining whether Taiwan's existing measures banning the import of 2,455 products from China (as of April) constitute trade barriers.

In response to China's trade barrier claims, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) called for negotiations to be held under the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework.

China's warning came two days after President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said in his Oct. 10 National Day speech on Thursday that the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, and the Republic of China (ROC) and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.

Lai said the PRC has no right to represent Taiwan.

The TAO said on Thursday night that Lai's speech was full of hostility and hurt stability across the Taiwan Strait.

However, the MAC said China is simply using economic means as a weapon to force Taiwan to succumb to its political stance, which will not help to resolve problems.

China needs to take full responsibility if people and enterprises on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait suffer losses and cross-strait ties deteriorate, it added.

The MAC also urged the Chinese authorities to respect the existence of the ROC and take pragmatic measures to deal with cross-strait economic affairs so both sides can engage in constructive dialogue.

Any further economic oppression will only result in resentment from the people of Taiwan, the MAC said.

Beijing announced a plan in May to suspend preferential tariff rates on a total of 134 Taiwanese imports that were part of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, effective from June 15, after Lai took office on May 20.

The "1992 consensus" is a tacit understanding reached in 1992 between the then Kuomintang (KMT) government of Taiwan and the Chinese government.

The KMT has described it as an acknowledgment by both sides that there is only "one China," but with each side free to interpret what that "one China" means.

However, Beijing has never publicly recognized the second part of the KMT's interpretation, and the DPP has rejected the formula, saying that acceptance of the consensus would imply agreement with China's claim over Taiwan.