Taipei, Oct. 29 (CNA) The true benefit of a cross-Taiwan Strait trade pact was the momentum it provided for Taiwan and East Asian economies to move toward regional integration, scholars said at a symposium Friday, but they advised Taiwan to "de-politicize" its relations to take the next step forward.
"Taiwan can play a more effective role in the process of Asia-Pacific integration by taking the path of de-politicization, " said Daniel Rosen, adjunct associate professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, at a forum titled "Beyond ECFA: Taiwan and Regional Integration in the Asia-Pacific."
The symposium, organized by Taiwan's Institute for National Policy Research, aimed to define Taiwan's future role following the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China in June to liberalize and institutionalize cross-strait trade ties.
Beijing's readiness to cease impeding Taiwan's links to other economies depends in part on Taiwan's willingness to de-politicize the significance of those external links, Rosen observed.
If the function of those links is to maximize Taiwan's prosperity, then Taiwan would be advised to sidestep Beijing's anxiety, the scholar said.
Rosen also urged Taiwan to empower private enterprises and serve as a bridge in Asia between East and West, grasping opportunities to deepen economic relations across the Pacific and with Europe at the same time.
The scholar did express some concerns over Taiwan's future course mainly because of its internal situation, which he said seemed to "get more politicized every year, and this is not good news."
John Ravenhill, a political scientist at Australian National University, argued that the ECFA would have at best a marginal impact on Taiwan's aggregate welfare but said it would be significant in other ways.
He believed the pact would affect the dynamics of negotiations on preferential trade agreements among the four large economies of Northeast Asia -- China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
"The significance of ECFA may lie less in its contents -- or in its welfare effects -- than in the momentum it will provide for the negotiation of further agreements in the region, " Ravenhill said.
"But whether Beijing will permit Taiwan to participate independently in bilateral or region-wide negotiations remains to be seen," he added.
Cho Hui-wan, a professor at National Chung Hsing University, said Taiwan's government will face many challenges once the agreement takes hold.
Liberalization means promoting competition and the elimination of weaker sectors, which is why Taiwan should transform its economy from high-polluting industries to innovative and value-added industries, Cho said. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls