Two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposals demanding that China apologize over a recent spat at the Tokyo International Film Festival and urging Beijing to release Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) both failed to be passed at the legislature yesterday.
Pan Men-an (潘孟安), a DPP caucus whip who initiated the motions, accused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus of impeding the passage of the two proposals by using rules of procedure in an attempt to “conceal its [the KMT’s] unfavorable position” so as to avoid the action influencing this month’s special municipality elections.
The KMT caucus was actually opposed to the two proposals, but “it did not dare to oppose them publicly” as that might lead to a loss of votes in the election, Pan said.
In one proposal, the DPP caucus proposed the government demand an apology from China over the incident in which Jiang Ping (江平), the head of the Chinese delegation attending the Tokyo International Film Festival, demanded that the Taiwanese delegation have its title changed to “Chinese Taipei” or “Taiwan, China.”
The DPP caucus also demanded the government suspend all ongoing negotiations with China until it offers an official apology to Taiwan.
In the other proposal, the DPP caucus demanded that the KMT government ask China to release Liu without delay so he could receive his Nobel Peace Prize in person and to approve the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as draw up concrete measures to improve its human rights record.
Rather than deliberate the two proposals at yesterday’s legislative session, the KMT caucus initiated a vote referring them to inter-party negotiations, which means the two proposals could not be placed on a plenary session for deliberation for another month.
Pan said he expects the KMT caucus to oppose the two proposals after the negotiation period is over “as it always pays lip service to defending the country’s sovereignty and democratic values, until it comes to pushing China to address the issues.”
KMT caucus whip Lin Tsang-min (林滄敏) said his caucus did not oppose the two proposals, but deemed it necessary to deliberate them more cautiously.
KMT Legislative caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said the DPP had “overacted” to the film festival spat when it demanded the suspension of all cross-strait negotiations until China apologizes.
“Could it be that the DPP wishes that Taiwan terminate all trade and economic interactions with the mainland and the implementation of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement? If so, Taiwan would lose more than it would gain,” Lin said.
In other developments, the legislature yesterday approved an agreement on legal cooperation on civil matters that the nation signed with Vietnam in April.
An amendment to the Teachers’ Act (教師法) also passed the legislature, in which teachers accused of sexual assault will face having their pay suspended during the period the cases are under investigation and will not get their pay returned when the investigation is completed.
An amendment to the Security Exchange Act (證券交易法) was also passed that requires companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the over-the-counter market to set up a commission to observe pay moderation of top executives.
The legislature also amended the Military Service Act (兵役法), extending the time men of conscription age are allowed to go abroad for tourism from two months to four months, and to attend international competitions overseas from three months to six months.
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