An initial review of supervisory articles to govern negotiations with China stalled in the Legislative Yuan yesterday, as lawmakers clashed over procedural questions.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator William Tseng (曾銘宗), a coconvener of the Internal Administration Committee, adjourned the meeting after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers moved to send the draft legislation back to the general assembly for reassignment.
“No party caucuses or individual legislators raised objections when the bills were originally assigned,” Tseng said, adding that he was willing to allow lawmakers from other committees to speak and raise motions during the review.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“There are too many variables if the draft bill is sent back to the general assembly or the Procedure Committee [for reassignment] — it could end up being frozen completely,” he said, adding that he would continue to push for a review today.
Under legislative rules, only committee coconveners can call for joint hearings after legislation is assigned to their committees, allowing him to ignore the DPP motion, he said.
Other KMT legislators accused the DPP of boycotting the review of the bill aimed at guaranteeing legislative oversight and civic participation in cross-strait negotiations.
“This motion is just a stalling tactic to win a respite,” KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) said. “DPP legislators are afraid to address the issue.”
KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) accused the DPP of engaging in a legislative maneuver to ensure that the draft bill would be reassigned to a committee where it has control over the agenda.
While the DPP enjoys a strong majority in all legislative committees, voting rules have still enabled the KMT to win coconvenerships on several committees, splitting control over agenda-setting.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) joined New Power Party (NPP) lawmakers in calling for the review to be handed to a joint committee.
“We should manage the review because we were the caucus that proposed the official draft version,” he said, criticizing the KMT caucus for failing to propose its own version.
He denied that the DPP was unwilling to initiate a review, while adding that the bill was not the “most important or urgent.”
“Tseng is trying to create conflict within the pan-green camp, while totally ignoring the strategy and stance of the central government,” he said, questioning whether the review should begin before a reported meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next month.
“Holding a review exclusively within the Internal Administration Committee would be a pretense that Taiwan is part of China, and that is inconsistent with the real state of affairs,” said New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐), who serves on the Foreign and National Defense Committee.
“Does not every version of the supervisory articles mention influence on national security as part of what should be included in mandatory impact assessments for future agreements? Is that not exactly what we in the Foreign and National Defense Committee are responsible for reviewing?” Lim said.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) said that the Foreign and National Defense Committee should be included in a joint committee review only if versions of the legislation referring to Taiwan and China as separate nations are withdrawn.
“Those versions would turn cross-strait relations upside-down, and that is totally unworkable,” she said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) said that holding a joint committee review of the supervisory articles was unnecessary “because cross-strait relations are not foreign relations.”
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) said she had “reservations” about versions of the articles referring to Taiwan and China as separate nations.
“Our definition of ‘cross-strait relations’ is ‘cross-strait relations,’” she said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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