Amid a recent rush by lawmakers to visit China to conduct so-called "track-two" communications, the New Party caucus at the Legislative Yuan yesterday announced that it is sending a delegation to China on July 9 to exchange views with Beijing officials on political issues.
New Party caucus convener Elmer Fung (
"We hope to conduct direct dialogue [with Beijing] on how both sides of the Taiwan Strait can reach reconciliation and seek a resolution that is acceptable to both sides," Fung said.
Fung said the delegation will arrive in Beijing on July 9, proceed to Shanghai on July 12 and return to Taiwan on July 14. However, Fung said that under an agreement reached with Beijing the details of the itinerary will be kept secret until the delegates arrive, but revealed that they will "meet with people whom they should meet."
In addition to the pro-unification New Party, known for its close contacts with China, a number of lawmakers from other political parties are also planning to lead delegations to China. They include members of two KMT subgroups, the Taiwan Unified Alliance (台聯會) and the Generation-E Alliance (e世代問政聯盟). Even politicians from the Mainstream Alliance (主流聯盟), a subgroup consisting of major DPP factions, are arranging a trip to China.
Legislators from the People First Party also plan to visit China. Chen Horng-chi (
"In the past most Taiwanese delegations [visiting China] were pro-unification hardliners, and thus the true voice of the Taiwanese people was not really heard," Chen said.
Chen said Taiwan needs to keep a channel of communication open through these representatives while official dialogue remains suspended.
"Otherwise, cross-strait misunderstanding and hatred will deepen," Chen said. "Hopefully such contacts will build up an atmosphere of peace to pave the way for the restoration of cross-strait talks."
DPP legislator Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), who is arranging the Mainstream Alliance's visit to China, said the group hopes to meet with Beijing officials during the trip, but it has not yet obtained an invitation from China.
"If the issues we plan to talk about are too sensitive, there will be a lot of uncertainties involved," Cho said.
Just as establishing contacts with China is becoming a trend among legislators, some members of the DPP are hesitant about the move.
DPP legislator Wong Chin-chu (
Chen said such worries were unnecessary, because the visits are not intended to replace the role of the government.
"In any case, if there are any proposals coming out of these trips the administrative branch still has the final say upon whether to accept it," Chen said.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS