The Mainland Affairs Council’s proposed measures to counter China’s new residency permit cards for Taiwanese are among the Executive Yuan’s priorities for the new legislative session, sources said yesterday.
The council is to propose draft amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) that would require holders of Chinese residency cards to report to authorities, said high-ranking officials who declined to be named, adding that the council has yet to decide whether to bar cardholders from holding public office or national security-related positions.
The draft amendments are to be proposed as a priority bill for the legislative session that begins tomorrow, alongside 41 other priority bills, the officials said.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of a reader
Premier William Lai (賴清德) is scheduled to hold a briefing with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators today to discuss bills that should be prioritized in the new session.
The act needs to be amended because China’s residency card is designed to evade provisions in the act that bans Taiwanese from simultaneously holding household registrations in Taiwan and China, officials said, adding that China treats residency cardholders as Chinese citizens, although they do not hold household registrations.
The policy is a “united front” ploy and a threat to national security, they said.
The Chinese State Council Information Office on Aug. 16 announced that, starting on Sept. 1, Taiwanese, Hong Kongers and Macanese who have lived in China for more than six months and are legally working, living or studying in the nation would be eligible to apply for a residence card.
Cardholders are granted certain rights and benefits enjoyed by Chinese citizens, such as compulsory education, social insurance and housing subsidies.
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) had said he would propose an amendment that would cancel cardholders’ household registration in Taiwan, but officials said they would discuss the bill first with legislators.
The council currently has no plan to cancel cardholders’ household registration, but that does not mean it never will, they added.
Other national security-related priority bills for the session include amendments to the act to regulate illegal investment activities by Chinese nationals in Taiwan, and to ban high-ranking government officials and retired military officers from attending political events in China for 15 years after their retirement, as well as draft amendments to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), they said.
Also included are the general budget plan for next year and more than 20 economy-related bills, such as draft amendments to the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法), the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例), the Futures Trading Act (期貨交易法) and the Trademark Act (商標法), they added.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
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