While cross-Taiwan Strait commercial exchanges soar as a result of the opening of tourism and the signing of an economic cooperation pact, government figures now show that the number of families living under the poverty line in Taiwan has risen to 108,000, with 260,000 people involved, both record highs. The widening gap between rich and poor is definitely not the result of Taiwan's closer economic engagement with China, but it is true that the new benefits created by improved cross-strait ties have not trickled down to everybody in Taiwan, particularly those at the lower end of the economic scale. The signing of the cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) has made Taiwan's economy into a bigger pie. The government should waste no time in planning on and overseeing how the pie should be sliced impartially so that all sectors of society can reap the rewards. The last thing the government should do is neglect to address the fairness of the distribution of newly generated wealth in the wake of the landmark trade pact. If the government does indeed fail to act to resolve the problem, the ECFA might help to increase Taiwan's overall wealth, but it will also further polarize the country's wealth distribution, and in turn create new social injustice. The administration cannot be too careful in this regard. 