ABSTRACT
Cross-Strait trade has become a controversial political issue in Taiwan. During the last two decades, Taiwan’s degree of dependency on cross-Strait trade continuously increased from 4 per cent in 1990 to more than 23 per cent in 2010 (Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council 2011). In the same period, Taiwanese capital constantly flowed into China. The investment dependency ratio, calculated by dividing Taiwan’s investment amount in China by Taiwan’s total overseas direct investment amount, augmented from less than 20 per cent to more than 80 per cent (Lin and Hu 2011). The expansion of cross-Strait trade and capital flow has instigated political debates on developmental strategy and national identity in Taiwan. In 2010, the signing and ratification of a free trade agreement titled the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), a major economic and cross-Strait policy of the Ma Ying-Jeou administration, triggered large-scale protests. The DPP Chairperson, Tsai Ing-Wen, the leader of the opposition, criticized the ECFA, claiming that it would lead to increasing income inequality, particularly among peasants and workers (Taipei Times, 27 April 2010). In 2014, the Cross-Strait Agreement on Trade in Services, another open trade policy, led to the occupation of the Legislative Yuan by the student-led ‘Sunflower’ movement in protest against the pact.
