Taichung, Dec. 22 (CNA) Some residents in central Taiwan's Taichung City, where the latest round of China-Taiwan talks are being held, were indifferent toward the ongoing protests against a visit by a top Chinese envoy and a proposed free-trade pact between the two sides.
Tens of thousands of people marched on the streets and rallied on Sunday ahead of the Chinese negotiator Chen Yunlin's visit in a protest organized by the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Since Chen's arrival on Monday, hundreds of people have demonstrated each day outside the hotel where he is staying.
The protesters are against the government's plans to sign the trade agreement -- known as the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). They said they fear it could flood the island with cheaper Chinese products, shut down small and medium-size enterprises , cost jobs, and jeopardize Taiwan's sovereignty in the long run by making it too economically reliant on China.
But some local residents in Taichung said they disagreed with the protesters.
"No matter what they (the protesters) do, the government is still going to sign (the ECFA) anyway, " said a cab driver surnamed Yang.
"I say let President (Ma Ying-jeou) do his things. If you're not happy with his performance, don't vote for him in the next election. It's that simple, " Yang said, adding that business in Taichung was not good in the past few days because of the protest and traffic controls.
Another resident said Taiwan will be better off signing the agreement with China.
"Not signing the agreement means certain death, but signing the agreement does not necessary mean death," said the resident, also surnamed Yang. "Taiwan is a small island and China is so economically powerful. The protesters are stupid. Our economy will improve as long as we have good economic cooperation with China." He said he does not believe Taiwan's sovereignty would be jeopardized.
"I don't think China is going to come in here and tell us what to do," he said.
In Sunday's two-hour parade during which organizers shouted out the damage they believe the economic agreement will cause through a large loudspeaker, onlookers by the roads barely took notice of the protesters as most people chose to keep doing what they were doing.
Despite the lukewarm response, a DPP local representative Chen Da-chun said Taichung City citizens have been very active in the protest.
After Sunday's massive rally, smaller scale protests have been staged on Monday and Tuesday. Pro-Taiwan independence supporters held a sit-in in a vacant lot across the hotel Chen Yunlin is staying.
Falungong practitioners lined the streets outside the hotel, holding signs and banners to oppose China's persecution against the spiritual group.
While the Falungong protesters have made little noise, other groups have used bullhorns, gas horns and loud speakers to make their views heard.
A motorcade parade organized by a local branch office of the DPP roamed through Taichung City Tuesday blaring anti-China and anti- trade pact messages on loud speakers.
Some local councilmen tried to enter the restricted area around the hotel at night. This was widely seen as a self-promotional tactic for the upcoming elections in five metropolitans in Taiwan, inclding Taichung.
However, the protests during Chen's visit this year appeared to be different from those during his visit last year. Local pro-independence groups and the DPP, traditional partners which formed a united front, appeared to have different mindset this time.
Local groups said they feel that the DPP has intentionally kept a distance from them because of what happened last year when some protesters clashed with the police in violent protests that happened during that round of talks held in Taipei.
DPP officials have said they do not condone violence and wanted to avoid a repeat of last year's clashes, for which it was criticized.
In the march on Sunday, the DPP and its supporters marched down one route, while the pro-independence groups went down the other, before joining for a final rally.
"It's obvious that the DPP is intentionally alienating local groups this time over fears of things getting out of hand, " said Tsai Ting-kuei, Convener of Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan, one of the groups.
Taiwan's government said signing the economic agreement with China will boost the island's economic growth by 1.65 percent to 1.
72 percent and create more job opportunities.
The government has also said Taiwan will enjoy tariff-free trade with China and greater access to the Chinese market. If it does not sign the agreement, it could lose out to China's other trade partners which will ink free-trade agreements with China, according to government officials.