The landmark economic cooperation agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China was signed in Chongqing in southwest China on June 30, which is expected to usher Taiwan into an era of unprecedented economic boom as China has agreed to lower import tariffs on 539 items, totaling US$13.84 billion. Some experts point out that “China is giving Taiwan everything it wants.” At any rate, it is generally acknowledged that Taipei gets much more than Beijing in this protocol. Why so? When asked about this question, officials of Beijing's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), replied bluntly: “Because the two sides of the Strait are from one family.”
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