The People’s Sovereignty Movement — a 49-day protest walk to promote changes to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) and push for referendums on all cross-strait agreements — departed yesterday from Longshan Temple (龍山寺) in Taipei.
People from all walks of life — teachers, college students, shop owners, workers, social activists, Christian ministers and Buddhist monks — gathered at the square in front of the temple to sign up for the protest. Politicians such as former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) also took part.
Several civic groups, including the Nuke-4 Referendum Initiative Association, the Union of Taiwanese Teachers, the Green Formosa Front Association and the Taiwan Labor Front, organized the walkathon.
PHOTO: CNA
As people prepared to begin the walk, a Buddhist monk held a placard written in English that read “ECFA — No.”
ECFA stands for “economic cooperation framework agreement,” a deal that the government plans to sign with China to establish closer economic ties, but some groups have raised doubts about the proposal.
Many people brought banners and signs voicing their concern that signing an ECFA might result in higher unemployment because more factories may move to China and less expensive Chinese products may be dumped on the Taiwanese market.
“The People’s Sovereignty Movement believes that cross-strait agreements concern the country’s sovereignty and the people’s welfare, and thus should be ratified by the people via referendums,” said Chen Li-chun (鄭麗君), a spokeswoman for the movement.
“We urge the public to demand that President Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] initiate a referendum to ask the people if they agree that Taiwan should sign agreements with China under the ‘one China’ principle as stated in Article 17 of the Referendum Act,” she said. “The Executive Yuan should also propose amendments to the law so that it becomes a better tool of direct democracy.”
Article 17 of the law stipulates that the president may initiate a referendum if the country is under threat from an outside force or if its sovereignty may be compromised.
Chen Li-kuei (陳麗貴), a movement leader, urged more people to “say with our feet what we, the masters of the country, want.”
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS