TAIPEI: Taiwan's Legislative Yuan should be represented in the negotiations with the Chinese mainland on the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) , a legislative research report released yesterday contends.

The legislature should be allowed to take part in relevant policy formulation to ensure that the agreement, similar to a free-trade agreement, meets Taiwan's interests and reflects diverse public opinion, the report said.

The Organic Law and Statute Bureau which authored the report suggested that a communication platform be created between the executive and legislative branches to facilitate discussions on ECFA-related issues.

The signing of ECFA is controversial. Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou and top officials of the Kuomintang believe it is important to help Taiwan maintain its global competitiveness, especially in consideration of the fact that the mainland plans to sign similar agreements with other countries. Opponents fear the agreement could hurt Taiwan's industries by flooding the island with tariff-free goods from the mainland.

As ECFA is Taiwan's most important economic matter at the moment and is closely related to the formulation of fiscal, economic and trade policies, the legislature is entitled to participate in policy formulation before ECFA negotiations get underway, the report said.

Since the proposed ECFA agreement covers short, medium and long-term market-opening measures, negotiations will take time to complete, according to the report. It added that the executive and legislative branches should therefore forge a dialogue platform and work in concert to pursue the best possible interests for Taiwan.

Given the broad coverage and complexity of the proposed agreement, the report suggested that the Executive Yuan should inform the legislature of any progress or decisions in the ECFA's planning and consultative stages.

Protecting Taiwan's overall interests should be the top guideline in ECFA negotiations, the report said, adding that sustainable industrial development and trade remedies should be prioritized in the negotiations agenda.

The report also noted that it is important that the ECFA integrates a comprehensive food safety inspection and compensation mechanism. Such a mechanism would be aimed at protecting consumers in case of problems involving food imported from the mainland.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 09/18/2009 page2)