Taipei, Dec. 7 (CNA) Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang reiterated Monday that the proposed cross-Taiwan Strait economic pact will not allow imports of Chinese labor or agricultural products, and agreed with a legislator’s suggestion that a television debate can be held to better inform the public about related issues.

KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao, at a legislative committee meeting Monday, said that the ECFA lacks public support mainly because the economics ministry has not put enough effort into promoting the advantages of the pact and he suggested that a TV debate might be a step in the right direction.

His comments were made against the backdrop of the ruling Kuomintang’s (KMT’s) worse-than-expected showing in Saturday’s local elections, which has been attributed in part to the government’s cross-strait policies, including its pursuit of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China.

According to Shih, many people in the agricultural counties still are not convinced that the ECFA will not lead to an opening of Taiwan’s market to Chinese workers and agricultural products, even though his ministry has given that assurance many times.

Some underground radio shows are also misleading people about the ECFA, he said, adding that a TV debate “can be planned” to discuss the issue, as Lai suggested.

In Saturday’s three-in-one local elections, the KMT took 12 of the 17 mayor and magistrate seats that were at stake, gaining 47.88 percent of the votes cast. This was a weaker performance than in 2005, when it won 50.96 percent of the vote in the mayor and magistrate elections in 23 counties and cities.

Some analysts noted that most of the 17 cities and counties in which the elections were held this year are either known as Taiwan’s main food-producing areas or as home to traditional labor-intensive industries.

The opposition pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) therefore put up a strong performance in those areas, a development that might have an adverse impact on cross-strait exchanges and the signing of an ECFA, the analysts said. (By Shu-yuan Lin and Fanny Liu)

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