The People First Party's (PFP) draft cross-strait peace bill and the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) draft anti-invasion peace bill passed a preliminary review at the legislature's Home and Nations Committee yesterday, but most of the bills' articles were put aside because of sharp differences of opinion.
The parties agreed to talks to address differences on the contentious articles before sending them to the plenary legislative session for second and third readings.
The TSU's 11-article anti-invasion peace bill states that Taiwan has existed alongside China since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and that any change to the status quo or any action to strip the nation of its sovereignty would not be tolerated by Taiwanese or the international community.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUN, TAIPEI TIMES
The draft also says that the government should call a referendum and amend the Constitution to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty if the cross-strait status quo is threatened. The government could also use "non-peaceful" means to resist China's annexation, the draft states.
The PFP argued that it was not necessary to enact the law because existing legislation has similar provisions. It also said that the use of the word "Taiwan" rather than the official national title in the bill was bound to cause confusion and controversy.
But they praised the TSU's patriotism and its attempt to enact the law.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposed an additional paragraph to the bill, which stated that the government must obtain more weapons for the sake of national security.
Calling the PFP's proposed negotiation committee in its cross-strait peace bill a "monster," TSU Legislator David Huang (
"It clearly encroaches on the president's constitutional authority to set cross-strait policy as well as the executive authority of the Mainland Affairs Council," Huang said. "I'd very much like to know what they plan to do when the president's decision clashes with those made by the council."
DPP Legislator Huang Chao-hui (
Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), the head of the PFP policy research department, however, said that establishing the council was necessary because the Mainland Affairs Council and its "white glove," the Straits Exchange Foundation, were no longer competent to handle cross-strait affairs.
According to the bill, a 17-member council must be established and several "peace ambassadors" must be elected among council members to conduct cross-strait negotiations and address 11 cross-strait policy issues.
They include signing an agreement about direct transportation links, the establishment of a demilitarized zone, the inking of an accord to protect China-based Taiwanese businesspeople, the setting up of a cross-strait free trade zone, the holding of a cross-strait summit and the signing of a peace accord with China.
Decisions arrived at by council members and "peace ambassadors" would be legally binding, and council members would be appointed by political parties in proportion to representation in the legislature.
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do