Rally expected on trade pact protest anniversary in Taiwan

Mainland to continue giving island priority

Another protest against cross-Straits trade pacts is expected to take place in Taipei on the first anniversary of the 2014 protest on Wednesday, with analysts urging the island to rationally tackle the issue to prevent a further drag on its economy.

The demonstration will reportedly include a "peaceful" rally outside the "Legislative Yuan" in the morning and a meeting in the evening near the legislative building. Police in Taipei said that about 300 people would show up in the morning and the number could exceed 2,000 by evening, local news portal chinatimes.com reported.

Hosted by the Economic Democracy Union, an anti-trade pact group, the evening gathering will bring up new demands from the protesters, including a halt to cross-Straits negotiations on a goods trade pact, said the group's Facebook page.

Local police will add security for the forthcoming activities. At least 500 police officers are to be stationed near local government buildings, with another 500 said to be on standby.

A live online broadcast on the draft regulation to review cross-Straits pacts will take place on Wednesday. Hsia Li-yan, head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, will offer an interpretation on the regulation and answer netizens' questions, Taiwan-based ETTV reported.

"The broadcast would serve as a channel to communicate with the public, as previous conflicts involving trade pacts occurred due to a lack of communication," said a spokesperson of the "Executive Yuan."

Thousands of people participated in a month-long occupation of the "Legislative Yuan" in March 2014 as they protested against the cross-Straits service trade pact, claiming that the pact might leave Taiwan vulnerable to economic and political pressure from the Chinese mainland. .

Analysts pointed out that despite the efforts of local authorities to promote cross-Straits trade pacts, changing public opinion on the pacts remains slow.

"As antagonism grows between the two parties competing in the 2016 regional leader election, it is unlikely that the Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would work together on the trade pact agreement," Hung Chi-kune, a political advisor of newly selected Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, told the Global Times.

The ruling KMT party - which has been actively promoting the trade pacts - lost by a landslide in last year's election, giving the DPP an edge in the 2016 election.

Wang Jianmin, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told the Global Times that last year's protest has left a profound impact on cross-Straits relations and made trade cooperation more difficult. "The protest reflects anti-mainland sentiment."

"[Failing to reach an agreement on the trade pacts before the leader's election] would have a negative impact on Taiwan's economy, which has already fallen behind in trade and economic cooperation with the mainland compared to South Korea," warned Hu Benliang, another CASS research fellow.

"The island's economic problems would become more severe and Taiwan would be increasingly marginalized in regional economic cooperation efforts if it fails to seize this opportunity," Hu added.

Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday that the Chinese mainland will maintain appropriate preferential policies toward Taiwan. He also pledged to give priority to Taiwan in terms of the depth and intensity of opening-up, urging strengthened cross-Straits economic and trade ties.

It would be easier for the public to support the trade pact with better cross-Straits relations, and major breakthroughs can be expected this year if two high-level meetings are held, Hung said.

The general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping might meet with the newly-elected KMT chairman Chu Li-luan this year. Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je may also attend the Shanghai-Taipei City Forum later this year.