The Presidential Office’s rejection of a proposal to amend the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to take into account political talks with China is indicative of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) vacillating attitude toward the issue, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
The DPP made the remarks after the Presidential Office rejected DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) proposal that would make it necessary to get a mandate through a referendum before the Executive Yuan could push for political talks with China.
Tsai had hoped her proposal, which she put forward on Friday, could be included before the end of the current legislative session. The proposal also stated that the conclusion of any talks should be decided through a referendum as well.
Photo: CNA
In response, Presidential Office spokesperson Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) that night rejected Tsai’s request for a meeting on the issue, saying that “it is unnecessary.”
Fan Chiang said the Referendum Act in its current form is sufficient for the issue in question and would encounter no difficulties, adding that the government would not propose any amendments to the act.
Fan Chiang said there was also no need to arrange for a meeting between Ma and Tsai, saying there would be televised platform presentations for the presidential candidates next month in which Ma, who is seeking re-election, and Tsai, who is the DPP’s presidential candidate, would be able to fully express their ideas and policies.
On the issue of whether the Referendum Act has other clauses that need to be amended, Fan Chiang said the Presidential Office would respect the opinions of the public. Unless the public reached a full consensus, there would be no rash proposal for amendments to laws, he added.
DPP spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) yesterday said that while Article 16 of the Referendum Act stipulates that the Legislative Yuan can propose a referendum and Article 17 of the act says that the president can also propose a referendum on defense matters, it does not contain an article that stipulates that when the nation’s sovereignty status is facing change, voters can decide to proceed with the change through a referendum.
Therefore, it is the DPP’s view that the government’s administrative departments are obliged to subject negotiations to a public referendum, Liang said.
“The people of Taiwan have the right to decide their own future, and if President Ma truly thinks that any cross-strait peace accords need to be subjected to a referendum, then he should support the inclusion of the clause into the Referendum Act,” Liang said, adding that such a clause should clearly limit the responsibility and obligation of the president and the government’s administrative authorities.
DPP spokesperson Chuang Ruey-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said that according to a cable released by WikiLeaks, former Control Yuan president Fredrick Chien (錢復) told the US in 2009 after attending the Boao Forum in China that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Wang Yi (王毅) told him: “We’ve done a lot for Ma [Ying-jeou], so it’s time for Ma to do some things for us. The upper echelons of Beijing wishes that Ma would convey in a more precise manner that Taiwan and China is ‘one China.’”
Looking at the language in the cable, it was not difficult to understand why Ma is bringing up such an issue at this juncture, Chuang said.
Pointing to Premier Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) remarks on Friday that any cross-strait peace agreement would be signed in accordance with the Guidelines for National Unification (GNU) between Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, and the territory “outside the free area” — China — Liang said Wu’s statement revealed what Ma truly has in mind.
“Although Ma said the signing of a cross-strait peace agreement has nothing to do with unification, in accordance with the GNU’s description, a peace agreement is what the GNU designates as the ‘long-term unification by negotiation’ phase,” Liang said.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from