TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Renegotiating the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA) would be “a backward and erroneous path,” Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said on Sunday (July 2).

Speaking at a campaign event, Lai said Taiwanese businesses have reduced their investments in China due to its unstable policies and deteriorating economic and trade conditions. Lai, the presidential nominee for the Democratic Progressive Party, urged Taiwanese entrepreneurs to further integrate into the global market, per CNA.

The CSSTA was a treaty intended to loosen trade restrictions between Taiwan and China in service industries such as banking, healthcare, and tourism. However, the way it was pushed through the Legislative Yuan in 2014 led to the Sunflower student movement, and the agreement was never ratified.

Lai said he believes Taiwanese society has successfully entered the international market, as observed by the sharp decrease in investments made in China by Taiwanese businesses.

In 2011, Taiwanese businesses invested US$14.6 billion (NT$4.54 trillion) in China. In 2021, that figure dropped to a little over NT$5 billion, due in part to more investments in the Indo-Pacific region, Lai noted.

The vice president vowed to continue encouraging Taiwanese companies to establish themselves globally. Taiwan “unquestionably” has the capability to become an economic powerhouse, he said.

With regard to cross-strait relations, Lai said he could not accept the “one China” principle or the so-called "1992 Consensus." Regardless of the purpose, accepting conditions proposed by China would result in the loss of sovereignty and democracy, he said.

Lai pledged to do his utmost to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and to uphold Taiwan's democratic and free constitutional system. Only the 23.5 million Taiwanese can determine their own future, he said.