Deals with China should be included in the Legislative Yuan’s scheduled discussion on the draft treaty act as “a safety valve” is necessary for the future handling of cross-strait negotiations, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus said yesterday.
“The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus is advised to support the inclusion of China in the deliberation of the treaty act next week because early consultation, better communication and the room for renegotiation are all necessary in cross-strait engagements so that the interests of Taiwanese would be protected,” DPP lawmaker Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) told a news conference.
After President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pledged inter-party collaboration in his New Year speech on Wednesday, the DPP proposed the establishment of a Legislative Yuan panel on cross-strait affairs, Gao added.
Responding to the initiative, KMT caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said the procedure for legislative monitoring of cross-strait agreements is already in place, adding that while improvements to the mechanism are welcome, the DPP should not use procedural issues to block the cross-strait service trade agreement, which was signed in June last year, but has yet to clear the legislature.
“[The DPP’s] blocking of the service trade agreement would jeopardize Taiwan’s future economic development,” Lin said.
Lin said that ties between Taiwan and China are not country-to-country relations, but the DPP has always argued that China should be treated in the same manner as other countries when it comes to negotiations, treaties and agreements.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
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American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
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