The preliminary legislative review of the controversial cross-strait service trade agreement scheduled for today was temporarily postponed and two more public hearings are to be held instead in response to continuing opposition from the public to the legislature ratifying the agreement.
Academics and representatives of civic groups apprehensive of opening up the nation’s service sector to Chinese investors continued to call for lawmakers to take citizens’ opinions into account through a deliberative democracy process before the agreement is reviewed in the legislature.
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union have voiced support for the demand that the impact on each industry covered by the trade agreement be discussed at a separate public hearing, with business owners and representatives of those employed in the sector invited to talk about their views before the legislative review begins.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) did not agree to the request.
Two separate public hearings were held yesterday by a joint committee led by the Internal Administration Committee, entrusted by the legislature’s plenary session to do a preliminary review of the agreement.
The preliminary review was scheduled for today, but the KMT agreed to postpone the meeting after it turned down a request by the DPP and the TSU that protesters rallying outside the legislature be allowed to be present at yesterday’s public hearing as observers.
A total of 28 representatives from academia, business associations and civic organizations were invited to present their views on the agreement, while Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦), Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) and Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) were also present.
At the hall, which can accommodate hundreds of people, most of the seats were taken by legislative assistants and officials from various departments.
The government signed the agreement with China without consulting affected industries and the public, and now “you mobilized officials and legislative assistants to occupy the seats that were supposed to belong to the people,” DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) said.
KMT Legislator Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said that it was against the rules to allow people to attend the meeting unless they have applied to attend beforehand.
At the hearing, several representatives of groups opposing the agreement emphasized the need for lawmakers to listen to people’s opinions.
“We demand that the legislature hold a public hearing specifically for each industry and that all related information be made available before a public hearing is held,” Chung Yuan Christian University associate professor of financial law Hsu Wei-chun (徐偉群) said.
The legislature should enact a law to regulate how the government assesses the impact of trade agreements on the nation and to require the government to present what policy it will adopt for industries covered by a trade pact following its implementation so people can better predict how the liberalization will affect local industries, Hsu said.
Terry Chang (張天立), president of online bookstore TAAZE and founder of books.com.tw, said he doubted that officials involved in the negotiations have a basic understanding of the industries covered by the agreement.
“This is not a trivial thing. I call on officials to reconsider the agreement and politicians in both the blue and the green camps to put away partisanship to work together to protect the country’s publishing industry,” Chang said.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition