Lawmakers yesterday strongly protested a possible move by the Executive Yuan to reject a bill that lifts a ban on the so-called "small three links."
The Offshore Islands Development Act, passed by the legislature on Tuesday, allows Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu to open direct trade, transport and communications links with China.
The bill stipulates that the government can establish the links on a trial basis before the rest of Taiwan is fully opened up.
However, Premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) said on Thursday that the lifting of the ban may threaten Taiwan's security, and that the Cabinet needs to discuss whether the bill should be returned to the Legislative Yuan for a second review.
Siew's remarks immediately triggered strong reaction from legislators, especially those elected from Kinmen and Matsu who have worked for years to have the bill passed.
Residents of outlying islands have long awaited the passing of the bill, hoping the links will boost their local economy.
"The government should not turn a blind eye to [the populations of the outlying islands]," said KMT legislator Chao Erh-chung (
Chao added that all three of the leading presidential candidates had promised to remove the ban on the three links -- communication, transportation and shipping.
KMT candidate Lien Chan (
"This promise should not be affected just because they were defeated in the presidential race," Chao said.
New Party legislator Lee Chu-feng (
"The soldiers in Kinmen dare not open fire. They have to talk nicely to the Chinese fishermen [who come into Taiwan's waters] to ask them to go back," Lee said.
"As the government cannot do anything about these Chinese people, it has tried to restrict us from keeping contact with them," Lee added.
Rather than keeping the ban, the government should lift it to better regulate immigration and show a friendly gesture to improve cross-strait relations, he said.
Lee threatened to mobilize the residents from the offshore islands to stage a demonstration in Taipei if the bill is rejected.
In response, Lin Chong-pin (
Lin said the Cabinet will conduct a detailed evaluation and make a decision next Thursday on how to handle the bill.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2