Although an economic stimulus plan was introduced, Taiwan stocks still closed lower on 11 September 2008. The Financial Times describes Taiwan's economic downturn as results from "downward pressure driven by global factors." Analysts also point out that, "during its first 100 days in office, the government has made a series of bold steps to deregulate economic Cross-Strait ties. But as these policies coincided with the global downturn and foreign investors had already bought Taiwan stocks heavily before the election, betting on the reforms, the island's market has seen a sell-off worse than the regional average." Taiwan's government reported that the economy contracted 8.36 percent during the last three months of 2008. Taiwan's economy rebounded by growing 10% in 2010. A free trade agreement with China was signed in 2010 called the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which was accompanied by a debate and a protest.