The statute governing the arms deal with the US and its related budget plan failed to pass the Procedure Committee again yesterday, while the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) proposed resolution asserting the sovereignty of the Republic of China (ROC) was also rejected in the committee session.
Meanwhile, the request for the legislature to review Control Yuan member nominations was also rejected by the pan-blue camp again.
PHOTO: CHIEN RONG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
The DPP has attempted to get the statute, the budget plan and the request passed several times, while the sovereignty bill was brought up for discussion in the committee for the first time yesterday.
The DPP first proposed the resolution in an attempt to counter China's anti-secession bill.
The resolution states that the "ROC" is a sovereign and independent country neither governed by nor belonging to China. It also says that the cross-strait "status quo" cannot be changed unless the Taiwanese public consents to the change via referendum.
But the People First Party insisted that the DPP add a part about opposition to Taiwan's independence, or it would not approve of the resolution, and the pan-blue camp again rejected the resolution.
"The sovereignty of the ROC is already something that is acknowledged by the Taiwanese public, and proposing this resolution is like taking one's pants down before farting," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Huang Teh-fu (黃德福) said. The Chinese proverb "to take one's pants down before farting" means to engage in an unnecessary act.
Huang said that the most important thing that could be done to defend the ROC's sovereignty was for the pan-green camp to not pursue any activities related to independence.
To defend the resolution, DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
"Since the resolution needs to be approved by the legislature, we can always amend the resolution content," Lee said.
In related news, a partial amendment to the Criminal Code got its second reading in the sitting yesterday, and the amendment stipulates that the death sentence will be abolished gradually.
The amendment further stipulates that a prisoner sentenced to life can request parole only after having served 25 years, up from the current 15 years.
The maximum allowable sentence -- aside from a life sentence or a death sentence -- for a single offense remains 20 years, but a criminal accused of committing several offenses at the same time can receive a 30-year sentence, up from the current 20 years.
The most important change is the tightening of the parole threshold, and the imposing of severer sentences on prisoners committing several offenses at the same time. This is part of the government's policy of gradually abolishing the death sentence.
The amendment is slated to get a third reading -- to be officially approved by the legislature -- in the next sitting on Friday.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
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The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
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