Tue, Dec 31, 2019 page1

• Vote on anti-infiltration bill expected today

  UNCONSTITUTIONAL? A KMT official said that if passed, the legislation would cause panic among more than 2 million Taiwanese who are working or studying in China

  • By Lin Liang-sheng and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  A vote on an anti-infiltration bill is likely to take place at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei today after cross-caucus negotiations yesterday failed to reach a consensus.

  During yesterday’s talks, which lasted about six hours, Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said that when the bill is brought up today, each caucus would be given an opportunity to speak and to vote on it.

  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Secretary-General Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of rushing the procedure to manipulate the elections on Jan. 11.

  

  Police officers guard an entrance at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Jan. 28.

  Photo: Lin Liang-sheng, Taipei Times

  The KMT places great importance on national security and is opposed to foreign infiltration of the Republic of China, but it opposes passage of the bill before the elections, Chang said.

  “President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) instructions to the Legislative Yuan to pass the bill on Dec. 31 are a violation of the Constitution,” he said.

  “The president should be supervised by the Legislative Yuan, but she is telling the legislature to pass a major bill by a deadline,” he said.

  The DPP has not put the bill to a public hearing, inspection by committee or cross-party talks, he said, adding that the scope and target of the proposed legislation were unclear.

  Such legislation would cause panic and unease among more than 2 million Taiwanese working, studying or doing business in China, as well as among cross-strait exchange organizations, he said.

  “Was the DPP sleeping for three years? Has it been ignoring concerns about Chinese infiltration and national security? If not, why has it waited until the last minute to push through this bill?” Chang asked.

  At a campaign event in New Taipei City, DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that the bill would not target innocent people or those engaged in sporting, cultural, business or other regular exchanges with China.

  There is no cause for concern, Cho said, adding that he hoped people would not “make waves or foster unease.”

  The bill contains 12 articles, its wording is clear, and its scope tight and carefully defined, while the legislative process surrounding its formulation and passage was transparent, Cho said.

  It is needed to counter the actions of foreign forces engaging in illegal activity within the nation’s borders, he said.

  Belle Yu (于美人), campaign spokeswoman for People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), said that while Taiwanese hope for an anti-infiltration bill to protect the nation, the current draft was worded unclearly and tries to cover too much.

  The bill is too small, with only 12 articles and fewer than 1,000 words, Yu said, adding that it was “a bit sloppy.”

  Too much of it has been questioned, she said, adding that the bill should be revised and its contents more clearly explained.

  Regular people would worry that their actions would become illegal and that there would be no official channel through which to appeal, she said.

  Additional reporting by Lai Hsiao-tung and Wu Su-wei
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