On the eve of Taiwan's announcement on whether to approve an initiative to hold a referendum on a planned economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, a Beijing official revealed that the number of Taiwanese industries or services to benefit from the accord's 'early harvest' program could reach 500. The number was far higher than Taiwan earlier expected. In a recent interview with Reuters, Premier Wu Den-yih said Taiwan wants at least 300 items included in the 'early harvest' list for tariff concessions or easier market access terms. Also on Wednesday, President Ma Ying-jeou reaffirmed in an interview with BBC his administration's plan to sign an ECFA with China in June, but he added that a specific date has yet to be decided. Ma acknowledged in the interview that Taiwan hopes its ECFA deal with China will facilitate its bid to sign similar pacts or free trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries and asked China not to stand in Taiwan's way to realize its ultimate goal. The following are excerpts from local media coverage of the issue: Economic Daily News: A Chinese official in charge of Taiwan affairs mentioned for the first time Wednesday that the number of Taiwanese goods and services to be subject to tariff waivers or preferential market access terms under the ECFA's 'early harvest' program may reach as high as 500. The disclosure of the possibility of China making a dramatic concession to Taiwan over the 'early harvest' list came after a Chinese foreign ministry official's recent reaffirmation of Beijing's objection to Taiwan signing FTAs with other countries drew broadsides from Taiwan's opposition camp. Noting that concluding negotiations on the 'early harvest' list marks the first step to signing the ECFA, the Chinese official said China will refrain from asking Taiwan to offer the same preferential treatment to its industries and services as it offers Taiwan. Asked about his view on the Chinese official's remarks, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung said that as ECFA negotiations are still ongoing, he cannot make any comments. Meanwhile, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-hsiang is scheduled to head for Japan Thursday to attend a ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) . Industry sources said Shih will meet with Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming on the sidelines of the APEC meeting, with ECFA issues high on their talk agenda. The Shih-Chen meeting may lead to a final settlement of the 'early harvest' list, the sources said. (June 3, 2010). United Daily News: President Ma said in the interview with BBC that Taiwan hopes China will refrain from impeding its efforts to sign FTAs with other countries because such accords are vital to Taiwan's sustainable growth. 'As WTO full members, both Taiwan and China have the right to forge free trade relationships with other WTO members, ' Ma said, adding that China should not interfere with Taiwan's FTA negotiations with other WTO members. On the planned ECFA deal with China, Ma said the main purpose is to normalize the existing flourishing cross-Taiwan Strait relationship. He also stressed that if there is any possibility that Taiwan's rights will be harmed by the pact, he would rather see ECFA negotiations collapse than have the deal go through. (June 3, 2010). Liberty Times: The Referendum Screening Committee under the Executive Yuan will meet Thursday evening to decide whether an opposition party-proposed referendum initiative on the ECFA will be permitted. The meeting is expected to begin at 6 p.m. and last less than three hours. It remains uncertain whether all of the committee's 21 members will be present at the session. As of Wednesday evening, several members had yet to confirm whether they would attend. On Wednesday, opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Kun-huei urged the committee members to respect people's right to have a say on the critical trade pact with China by approving the referendum initiative. The main opposition Democratic Progressive Party also said it will consider whether to mount a large-scale street protest if the referendum initiative is rejected. (June 3, 2010). 