Some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday said they would not attend a planned party debate on cross-strait policies in protest at the Cabinet's recent announcement on its "active management, effective opening" economic policy.
The DPP plans to hold a debate on China policy next weekend. The legislators said that it would be meaningless to take part in the debate given that the administration has already finalized its policies.
On Wednesday, the Executive Yuan announced a plan to adopt a more rigorous approach in its implementation of the "active management, effective opening" policy. Beginning on June 30, China-bound investment projects exceeding US$20 million or involving sensitive technology will be subject to a tougher approval procedure.
DPP Legislator Julian Kuo (
"The Cabinet has negated the DPP's democratic mechanism and I refuse to endorse its decision," Kuo said. "To show my strong opposition, I will quit the DPP's debate on China policy that I had already signed up for."
Kuo said Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"In view of this situation, I think it is meaningless to go on with the debate," he added.
DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
Lee said the Executive Yuan should postpone its adoption of the new China investment policy until the DPP reaches a conclusion, and then the Presidential Office, Executive Yuan and legislative caucus come to an agreement on it.
"Otherwise it will be redundant for us to debate this topic," Lee said.
DPP caucus whip Chen Chin-jun (
DPP spokesman Tsai Huang-liang (
"It is just as if a baseball game is about to begin, yet the players call it quits," Tsai Huang-liang said.
But Lo Cheng-fang (羅正方), deputy executive of the DPP's Policy Development Committee -- who is responsible for setting the agenda for the debate -- said yesterday the party is communicating with the disgruntled lawmakers and the debate would not be canceled.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
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