A picture combo shows Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou (left) and Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of Taiwan's biggest opposition Democratic Progressive Party, during a televised debate in Taipei on a free trade deal with the mainland on Sunday. [AFP]

The debate in Taiwan on Sunday over a comprehensive trade pact with the mainland will not affect the signing of it, experts said, but could get it more support.

The mainland and the ruling party of Taiwan hope an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), which aims to normalize mainland-Taiwan economic ties and bring the two economies closer together, can be singed before the end of June.

A third round of negotiations is to begin in May or June in Beijing, including a discussion to finalize the so called "early harvest program".

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou, also chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang party, and Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of Taiwan's biggest opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), held a first-ever televised debate in Taipei on the chances and risks the ECFA will bring to Taiwan.

During the two-and-a-half hour debate, Ma used statistics and examples to elaborate why it is urgent for Taiwan to sign the ECFA. He also demanded Tsai and her camp stop threatening Taiwan people by exaggerating the negative effects of the agreement.

Ma said that during the DPP's rule from 2000 to 2008, Taiwan's economy and trade continuously declined due to the DPP's lack of a policy towards the mainland.

He said signing the ECFA will enable Taiwan to become a major economic and trade hub in the Asia-Pacific region, and save its $390-billion economy from pariah status, otherwise Taiwan will be marginalized as the free trade agreement between the mainland and ASEAN threatens Taiwan's competitiveness within those trade blocs.

Tsai, on the contrary, questioned if Ma had calculated the unemployment the ECFA would bring, as well as the "real intention" of the mainland behind an economic pact that seems to benefit Taiwan more, suggesting a "reunification conspiracy".

Wu Nengyuan, director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies at the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences, said he thinks Ma's performance was much better.

He said Ma was able to sufficiently explain the benefits to Taiwan by signing the ECFA, while Tsai seemed less prepared and could not raise an alternative solution when questioning the ECFA.

"However, the debate will have no influence on the signing of the ECFA. Rather, it is played by both as a way to get more support for his or her own political demands," he said.

Taipei-based China Times said the debate could be considered an "opener" for both sides in the 2012 "presidential election".

Du Ping, a commentator with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, said it has already been determined that the ECFA will be signed before the end of June, and the debate contributes nothing except giving the opposition a chance to attack Ma's mainland-friendly policy.

Farmers, laborers, white-collar workers, scholars and representative from so-called underprivileged groups and conventional industries most likely to be affected by the ECFA attended the debate.

Consensus between the mainland and the ruling Kuomintang holds that the ECFA helps both sides and can protect Taiwan from being marginalized amid mounting regional economic integration, but the DPP-led opposition opposes the bid out of concern that Taiwan's "sovereignty" could be at stake and that it will devastate Taiwan's underprivileged industries, like agriculture.

According to Taiwan's influential Global View opinion poll, people supporting the ECFA outnumber the opposing group 46.2 percent to 35.9 percent. More than 1,000 Taiwan people were polled from March 15 to March 17.

In his weekly video address on Saturday, Ma vowed to forge ahead with the ECFA, saying the administration will sign the proposed trade accord because it is helpful to Taiwan and the Taiwan people.