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MAC says KMT may be violating law

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) could be in violation of stipulations that prohibit engaging in cross-strait negotiations or agreements without government authorization, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.

The Council slammed a recent meeting between a KMT delegation and Chinese officials in Beijing, saying that public condemnation of the trip would be the KMT's severest punishment. But officials said they are not ruling out the possibility of legal action against the members of the delegation.

Outgoing Council Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said that Article 5 of the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸條例) "makes clear that no civil servants, elected officials, or local representatives can negotiate or execute any agreements with Beijing without government authorization."

The act also stipulates that violators can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison or a minimum fine of NT$200,000 and a maximum of NT$2 million.

The 30-member KMT delegation, led by party Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤), hammered out a ten-point agreement on trade, travel and commercial ties with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) representatives on Wednesday. The agreement comes at a sensitive juncture in cross-strait relations, with Beijing's recent passage of its "Anti-Secession" Law and a subsequent rally in Taipei protesting the legislation.

Chiu said that whether or not legal action would be taken against the KMT delegation would be decided after the group returned to Taiwan with details about the content and nature of the agreement.

The KMT's trip has been touted as the first contact between the former foes in over 50 years, and is seen as an indication of reconciliation between the two parties.

The KMT fled to Taiwan after being defeated by the CCP during the Civil War.

The delegation was given a high profile reception by high-level Chinese officials, including director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) on Wednesday, and chairman of Beijing's top advisory body -- and the CCP's No. 4 man -- Jia Qinglin (賈慶林) yesterday. Chen also doubles as the director of the Communist Party Central Committee's Taiwan Work Office.

However, the merrymaking in Beijing caused anger in Taipei, with the government warning that in addition to violating laws governing cross-strait negotiations, the KMT delegation could be in breach of constitutional separation of powers.

"As a general principle, we don't comment on non-governmental interaction across the Strait, but the KMT's trip is in violation of the workings of democratic governance," Chiu said, adding that the distinct roles of the legislative and executive branches had to be respected.

"The legislative branch should not take on the executive branch's duties," Chiu said. "This clearly violates the system of governance stipulated in our Constitution."

In light of the recent surge of interest in visiting China, the MAC said again in a statement yesterday that Beijing's Anti-Secession Law was adopted unilaterally, and as such had angered the Taiwanese and resulted in international criticism.

Following Chiang's trip to China, several political figures have also indicated a desire to meet with the Chinese authorities. Plans for KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) to visit Beijing in June are said to be in the works. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) expressed an interest in meeting with Chinese authorities.

The KMT also expects to send another delegation to Beijing towards the end of the month to discuss cross-strait charter flights and agricultural exports. PFP Legislator and Tainan County Farmers' Association chairman Tsai Sheng-chia (蔡勝佳) also has plans to visit China in coming weeks. KMT Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) also said he would like to invite Wu Bangguo (吳邦國), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, to Taiwan.

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