TAIPEI: The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus said yesterday that its members will not attend a briefing on a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with the mainland given by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).

"The DPP opposes the briefing, because it is being held outside the legislative system, and we will boycott it," asserted DPP legislative caucus whip Lee Chun-yi.

Officials from the MAC and the "Ministry of Economic Affairs" are scheduled to report to the legislature today on the progress in the controversial trade deal negotiations at a meeting to be chaired by Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng.

Lee argued that the legislature should set up a dedicated supervisory mechanism by forming a legislative task force to oversee cross-Straits affairs, including the ECFA issue.

He asked Wang to host negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties to determine how the legislature should oversee the administration's ECFA talks with Beijing.

In response, Lin Hung-chih, a whip of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) legislative caucus, said listening to the briefing will help lawmakers better grasp the process behind negotiations on the trade pact.

Lin called on his DPP colleagues to attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng criticized Lin's proposal that would establish a separate task force as "needlessly redundant."

"What is crucial is whether the legislators are attentive enough to the ECFA issue, rather than establishing a separate task force," Wu argued.

Besides, he said, when the DPP was the ruling party during the Chen Shui-bian era, it opposed a proposal by the then opposition KMT caucus to set up a legislative task force on cross-Straits affairs and labeled it "unconstitutional."

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 02/03/2010 page2)