Mayor welcomes closer cooperation

SHANGHAI - Signing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with the mainland will help Taiwan "revive" its economy, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin said on Friday.

"The lack of economic exchange and cooperation across the Straits over the past decade has hindered the economic development of Taiwan ... It is now time for us to get rid of mainland-phobia and facilitate exchanges between the two sides by signing the trade pact," Hau said shortly after he arrived in Shanghai for the launch of the Taipei Pavilion in the Urban Best Practices Area of Expo 2010.