Policymaking in Taiwan's Semi-Presidentialism: A Case Study of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA)

Abstract

Under President Ma Ying-jeou, the government of the Republic of China (the ROC, Taiwan) tried to improve the relations with the People's Republic of China (the PRC, mainland China). After the resumption of the cross-strait talks, the exchange and cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait that were focused mainly on the economy quickly moved forward, and the cross- strait agreements, including the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), were concluded in rapid succession. The ECFA is a de facto free trade agreement (FTA) between the governments of the PRC (mainland China) and the ROC (Taiwan). There are various studies on the ECFA, but most of them mainly analyze the economic effects of the agreement, or consider its legal position. However, little research from a political point of view has been conducted on the ECFA. Then, this article discusses the features of Taiwan's policymaking processes under its semi-presidentialism by focusing on the policy processes of the ECFA from the perspectives of congressional supervision of the cross-strait agreements. This article clarifies and confirms the complexity of policymaking in Taiwan's semi-presidentialism.