Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
After around an hour of discussion, the opposition coalition yesterday evening accepted almost the entire draft agreement sent to the legislature by Executive Yuan Secretary-general Chiou I-jen (
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The changes made by the opposition involved only the removal of a disputable phrase and the addition of a note.
"[The changes] are practical. The rest of the text is written according to the Executive Yuan's version," Wang said.
"This high level of goodwill is being extended by the opposition coalition because it is everybody's hope to revitalize the economy quickly," Wang added.
What was removed was a phrase which originally appeared in the foreword of the Executive Yuan's proposed draft, which stated that the four-point conclusion was reached "with negotiations between the Cabinet and Legislative Yuan."
The phrase was considered inconsistent with the facts, because the agreement was signed between the Executive Yuan and the opposition caucuses in the legislature, rather than the Legislative Yuan as a whole.
Also, a note concerning the nuclear energy law was added to specifically outline the legislation to be completed through negotiations between the ruling and opposition lawmakers.
"There are a lot of `energy-related laws,' and they should not be covered comprehensively by this agreement," Wang said.
The Executive Yuan and the opposition had engaged in negotiations soon after the legislature passed a resolution on Jan. 31 demanding a resumption of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant's construction immediately.
The final agreement signed by the two sides yesterday was achieved, in a great part, through the coordination of Wang, who was keeping close contact with Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄).
The negotiations broke down on Feb. 6 due to differences between the two sides on the wording of the agreement.
The Executive Yuan first unveiled on Monday that it would send a revised version to the legislature based on a proposal it raised on Feb. 6. In this revised version, some text unacceptable to the opposition were changed.
Lee Sen-zong (
"We don't wish to be blamed for dragging out the problem," Lee said.
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