Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday gave mixed reviews to a call by party headquarters to promote the government’s proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China by holding conferences at the local level.
KMT Legislator Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和) told reporters that although he had received a letter from party headquarters urging the party’s lawmakers to help promote the proposed pact, he believed it would be better for the party to garner public support for the agreement in a more subtle manner.
“Holding conferences deliberately [to promote an ECFA] will never be as effective as influencing public opinion imperceptibly,” Chung told reporters at the legislature.
KMT Legislator Shyu Jong-shyoung (徐中雄) said it would be difficult for legislators to promote an ECFA because many do not know enough about it.
The KMT caucus recently received a letter from KMT headquarters calling on lawmakers to explain and promote the ECFA to the general public.
Party headquarters urged legislators to hold sessions for a minimum of 200 people each in their own electoral districts next month while the party will offer a NT$10,000 subsidy for each session.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) quoted an anonymous pan-blue politician yesterday as saying that many KMT legislators from southern Taiwan had reservations about helping the party promote the ECFA because signing the agreement could deal a blow to traditional industries.
But KMT Legislator Lu Chia-chen (盧嘉辰) said he had held a number of ECFA-related sessions, adding that KMT lawmakers could directly help answer the public’s questions about the ECFA during the sessions.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), who also previously helped at several sessions, said he supported the party’s call, adding this would increase public understanding of the agreement.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS