Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) yesterday said the chances that a review committee that has already rejected proposals for a referendum on a controversial trade pact with China would treat a fourth and final bid on the matter any differently were very slim.
Speaking outside a hearing held to determine the legality of his latest proposal to turn the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) over to a public vote, Huang said the committee would likely turn it down when it reviews it tomorrow, despite the fact that referendums are a “basic right.”
“I think our proposal is about to be struck down,” Huang told reporters after announcing he would boycott the hearing. “The reason we continue to bring about these referendum bids is because we believe it to be a basic right of Taiwanese.”
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
During the current hearings — the third held in the past eight months — senior officials at the Ministry of Finance and the Mainland Affairs Council voiced their opposition to a referendum, saying it was unnecessary as opinion polls showed the trade pact, which lowers tariffs on hundreds of goods across the Taiwan Strait, was well received by the public. The ECFA came into force in September, while the “early harvest” list of items receiving preferential tariff treatment took effect on Saturday.
Signed in June, the ECFA was initially opposed by both the TSU and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), although the DPP later softened its position. Critics claim the agreement will cost Taiwanese jobs and erode the nation’s sovereignty as a result of increasing dependency on China.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Francis Liang (梁國新) told the hearing that rather than isolate Taiwan, the ECFA had boosted its global competitiveness, while Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chao Chien-min (趙建民) said the agreement was “well--monitored” by the legislature.
“The government doesn’t support a referendum over the ECFA … it’s unnecessary,” Chao said.
The referendum review -committee previously rejected all three prior proposals — two by the TSU and another by the DPP — saying there were contradictions within the question and wording of the proposal. The TSU question would ask voters whether they agreed that the government should have signed the ECFA with China.
Organizers have called the committee’s actions “undemocratic” and the TSU has issued a court challenge over the second decision made in June. Each of the proposals had included about 100,000 signed petition forms, more than the number required by law, which organizers said reflected popular opinion.
Huang said that if the proposal were rejected tomorrow, his party would be unlikely to file any more referendum proposals and instead seek to overturn earlier decisions through administrative appeals.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS