Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng
"It is lawmakers' legal responsibility to monitor the government's cross-strait policy and take part in cross-strait affairs. This is a trend we can't block," Wang said.
Wang said the situation is different now compared with the past when President Lee Teng-hui
"There wasn't any problem back then because nobody was challenging him [Lee]," Wang said.
In a move widely believed to be intended to challenge President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inter-party task force on cross-strait relations that is set to be established next week, the majority KMT caucus in the legislature on Thursday put forth a proposal to set up a special legislative group to strengthen its watch over the government's cross-strait policies.
The task force, a non-institutional body chaired by Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (
Chen has said that the committee will be a consultative body answering to the president and has promised that it will not take over the functions of the existing National Unification Council, Mainland Affairs Council or Straits Exchange Foundation.
The KMT lawmakers, however, have argued that cross-strait policy should be subject to the legislature's supervision.
"The legislature is responsible to the people and is the political center. We need to bring the issue back into the constitutional system and strengthen the legislature's supervision over cross-strait affairs," said KMT legislator Hong Yu-chin (洪玉欽), who is also executive director of the KMT's central policy committee.
Hong said it is necessary for the legislature to set up a special group because decisions affecting cross-strait policy not only involve the Presidential Office, but also a number of different ministries under the Executive Yuan.
Caucus leaders yesterday failed to reach a consensus on the matter in an inter-party negotiation called by Wang. Another round of negotiation has been scheduled for Monday.
With the exception of the KMT caucus, the DPP, the People First Party (PFP) and the New Party caucuses, all argued that the issue should be put off until they have obtained a clearer picture of how the group is to be operated.
Liu Wen-hsiung (
However, Liu agreed that the making of cross-strait policy should be conducted within an institutional framework.
"When there is a National Unification Council under the Presidential Office, President Chen should respect this organization," Liu said.
Liu said that if the cross-party task force is necessary, it should be truly "cross party," rather than a rubber stamp for Chen.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique