It is true that a plan of unprecedented importance like the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China needs to be screened by the legislature, but we would hate to see the trade pact delayed endlessly and Taiwan's crucial comeback chance nixed because of a partisan struggle. How the ECFA will be passed by the legislature is now a bone of contention. The Executive Yuan, which considers the ECFA as a special quasi-treaty, insists that the legislature must review the pact in its entirety, either endorsing or rejecting it. However, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is trying to block the agreement, is demanding that the ECFA be screened clause-by-clause. Interestingly, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, formerly a vice chairman of the ruling Kuomintang, has said that the legislature has the right to determine its own way of reviewing or screening the pact and that the opposition must have a say in the ECFA's passage. The ECFA is unprecedented in the history of cross-strait relations, and there are no laws, regulations or precedents in Taiwan on the issue from which to learn from, but one thing is for sure -- as long as the ECFA is deferred for a single day, the DPP will feel triumphant for a day and the interests of the public will be impaired for one more day. Destructive boycotting is not effective supervision. The legislature must pay heed to the people's voices -- most Taiwanese people have expressed support in recent polls for a well-designed ECFA that takes into consideration the less competitive industries at home and helps Taiwan's agricultural and fishery sectors export more to China. Don't waste time activating the ECFA. (July 4, 2010) 