Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen suggested Saturday that the issue of whether Taiwan should sign the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China should be decided by the people through a referendum, while a debate between party leaders over the issue is being planned. Referring to a report that President Ma Ying-jeou, who is concurrently chairman of the ruling Kuomintang, is willing to debate with Tsai over the contents and potential impact of the proposed cross-strait pact aimed at ushering in free trade, Tsai said that both parties should see to it that a debate is held. In the meantime, the DPP chairperson suggested holding a referendum over the issue. 'The people should have an opportunity to make their own judgments, and the best opportunity for them to make the judgments is a referendum,' Tsai said. Tsai used the results of a DPP survey to support her argument for holding a referendum over the issue, pointing out that between 60 percent and 70 percent of the people who responded to the survey are in favor of such a referendum. 