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.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS