The Mainland Affairs Council announced Monday that negotiators of Taiwan and China are scheduled to meet in Taiwan March 31 and April 1 for a second round of talks on the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA). Ta Shee Resort in Taoyuan County, a luxury hotel situated some 40 kilometers south of Taipei, has been designated as the venue of the talks. At the head of the Taiwan delegation will be Huang Chih-peng, director-general of the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The China delegation will be led by Tang Wei, chief of the Department of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs under China's Ministry of Commerce. The two sides are expected to exchange views on the 'early harvest' programs for goods and services to be first covered by the trade pact and will also discuss the text of the agreement. Also Monday, the Presidential Office took the initiative to contact the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to arrange for a meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou and the party's chairperson, Tsai Ing-wen, to discuss the ECFA issue. The following are excerpts from local media coverage of the issue: Commercial Times: Taiwan and China are not prepared to unveil their respective proposed early- harvest lists in the upcoming talks. According to Huang, the two sides will outline their stances and principles on the 'early harvest' programs and will only present the lists 'when the stances of the two sides come very close to each other.' Although Taipei and Beijing have communicated on the matter on several occasions, Huang said further discussions are required because up until this point, the two sides have been defending their own items and challenging those proposed by the other side. Also, the discussion on the text of the agreement will take some time, as the draft agreements prepared by the two sides each contain around 20 clauses, Huang said. (March 30, 2010). Economic Daily News: Informed sources said Taiwan and China have reached a consensus to prioritize market access for financial service providers when negotiating the 'early harvest' program for the services sector, and Taiwan will also seek to obtain 'supra-WTO treatment' for the financial sector. Taiwan's focus will include allowing Taiwanese banks with branches in China to provide Chinese yuan-related services immediately. At present, branches of foreign banks in China are only eligible to provide the services after they have been established for three years and been profitable for two consecutive years. Also, Taiwan hopes that Taiwanese insurers can be exempted from the high thresholds set by China for foreign insurers. These include that the parent company must have minimum total assets of US$5 billion, have been in business for at least 30 years, and have set up a representative office in China for two years. (March 30, 2010). Liberty Times: The government decided to have the ECFA talks held in Taoyuan County instead of Taipei City mainly because it is concerned about possible protests by the pact's opponents. Ta Shee Resort was picked as the venue for security considerations. As there is only one road leading to the resort, the place is 'easy to defend and difficult to be attacked.' Police estimated that the force to be dispatched will not exceed 50. The DPP on Monday again challenged the proposed ECFA. Su Jia-chyuan, secretary- general of the party, said the Ma administration has failed to identify the structural problems underlying Taiwan's high unemployment rate, high property prices and high consumer prices and has mistaken the ECFA for a panacea for the country's economic problems. Calling the agreement a 'prescription of unknown ingredients,' Su said the Ma administration has not only failed to present any 'early harvest' list, but also dared not to talk about the adverse effects to be brought about by the ECFA. (March 30, 2010). United Daily News: Chen Chih-mou, head of the DPP's Taoyuan County branch, said Taoyuan does not welcome the ECFA talks and he warned the ruling Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China to watch for the 'consequences' if they insist on going there. Meanwhile, the DPP is prepared to launch a new publicity campaign against the ECFA. Different from previous efforts that targeted at farmers and blue-collar workers, the latest one will target white-collar workers. (March 30, 2010). China Times: Presidential Office Secretary-General Liao Liou-yi rang up DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-Chyuan to set up coordination of the proposed meeting between Ma and Tsai. According to Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang, the president welcomes any rational dialogue and discussion with Tsai, and the two sides will further consult on how the meeting should be conducted and other details. Su said the DPP insists that Ma accept a debate with Tsai to allow the public to scrutinize the ECFA in an open and transparent environment, questioning 'what is the point' of the meeting if it is merely designed as a 'talk.' In addition to a debate, the DPP also wants to have a referendum held on the ECFA issue and have a dedicated group set up under the Legislative Yuan to monitor cross-Taiwan Strait affairs, Su said. (March 30, 2010). 