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"the mainland's suspension of tariff concessions on 34 taiwanese agricultural products will have a greater psychological impact on the people on the island than on their economic interests." wang jianmin, a researcher at the institute of taiwan studies of the chinese academy of social sciences, pointed out in an interview with the strait herald that agricultural products are a sensitive area that involves the interests of taiwan's farmers and fishermen, a vulnerable group. this move may cause taiwan's farmers and fishermen to reflect on lai ching-te's policies and think about whether to continue supporting lai's "taiwan independence" regime.

the state council tariff commission recently issued an announcement, deciding to stop implementing the policy of exempting 34 agricultural products such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and aquatic products originating from taiwan from import tariffs starting from september 25, 2024. at the end of 2023 and may 2024, the mainland has suspended ecfa tariff concessions twice, mainly focusing on industrial products such as petrochemicals and machinery. this time, it is mainly agricultural products. the three batches of products whose tariff concessions have been suspended have a total of 180 items.

the lower middle class represented by taiwan's "three middle" groups (small and medium-sized enterprises, central and southern taiwan, and low- and middle-income) tend to support the dpp in elections. wang jianmin pointed out that the suspension of tariff concessions on 34 taiwanese agricultural products will certainly impact the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen in central and southern taiwan, and their personal feelings will affect the reputation of the ruling dpp authorities. in addition to the direct damage to taiwan's economic interests, the deeper impact of the mainland's move this time is that it has caused concerns among all sectors of the island about the direction of cross-strait relations. "they may worry about whether ecfa will be completely terminated and whether the mainland will take more sanctions on cross-strait economic and trade relations. i think this psychological impact may be greater than the impact on economic interests."

wang jianmin pointed out that the lai qingde administration cannot escape blame. "after lai qingde came to power, he adopted an extremely wrong line in cross-strait relations, 'resisting china', creating confrontation and protests, which had a great impact on cross-strait relations. under such circumstances, the mainland must of course warn the lai qingde administration." the mainland's third suspension of tariff concessions on ecfa-related projects is clearly a countermeasure against the dpp administration's obstruction of cross-strait exchanges and cooperation.

wang jianmin further pointed out that under the current circumstances of deteriorating cross-strait relations and escalating confrontation, mainland china's countermeasures may continue to expand. in addition to suspending more ecfa tariff concessions, other economic sanctions on cross-strait trade cannot be ruled out.

in an interview with the strait herald, xiao hanjun, chairman of the kaohsiung farmers association, said that the suspension of ecfa tariff concessions is to take back the unilateral concessions made by the mainland, which has reduced the competitiveness of taiwan's agricultural products in the mainland and is equivalent to cutting off a channel for taiwan's farmers and fishermen. "due to the poor cross-strait relations, the cross-strait policies of the dpp authorities have affected the economy, and the innocent taiwanese farmers and fishermen are the ones who suffer. the taiwanese people hope that cross-strait relations will not go to such extremes, but lai ching-te will not listen."(intern reporter liu yunjia and reporter wu shenglin from strait herald)