The three pacts signed between Taipei and Beijing last week will automatically go into effect 90 days after approval by the executive branch, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
MAC Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said the three agreements do not require legislative review because they do not concern revisions to existing law.
The Act Governing Relations between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that agreements that do not require legal amendment automatically take effect within a certain period of time after being referred to the legislature from the executive branch.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said yesterday that the legislature does not have sufficient time to review the content of the agreements.
Taiwan and China last Tuesday signed three accords on fishing crews, quality checks and quarantine of agricultural products and standardization of non-agricultural products.
Both sides had originally planned to ink four agreements, but dropped one on the avoidance of double taxation after negotiations broke down because of “technical problems.” It was the first time an issue placed on the agenda of the cross-strait high-level talks had not been signed.
Liu yesterday said that the council does not oppose signing the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation before the next round of cross-strait official talks, which are scheduled for the first half of next year.
However, since the accord was not signed this year, China-based Taiwanese businesspeople would not be able to benefit from it until they file their income tax in 2011, Liu said.
Meanwhile, MAC Deputy Minister Chao Chien-min (趙建民) said yesterday the public wanted to see China repatriate well-known white-collar criminals such as former Tuntex Group chairman Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪).
Chen allegedly embezzled tens of billions of NT dollars from Taiwanese investors and is believed to be living in China.
Chao made the remarks while briefing foreign ambassadors and representatives about the talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday morning.
Chao said China had repatriated 12 fugitives linked to seven criminal cases since the two sides inked an accord on judicial assistance and a joint effort to combat crimes in June last year.
James Chang (章計平), deputy director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters later that after the two sides signed an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), they could talk about security issues, such the missiles China has aimed at Taiwan.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
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