As the one-year anniversary of the Sunflower movement approaches, activists have scheduled a series of events to highlight the goals sought during the landmark protests in which tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied against the government’s handing of a proposed service trade pact with China.
Led by Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強), a coalition of social advocacy groups are to rally outside the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday next week, marking the day when student-led protesters first swarmed the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber.
Lai called on the public to support the groups’ three main demands: the establishment of an oversight bill to monitor cross-strait agreements, constitutional reforms and an immediate halt to cross-strait negotiations on trade in industrial and agricultural goods.
The passage of a cross-strait oversight bill was the primary demand of the Sunflower movement, after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠) sparked a public outcry when he attempted to ram through a preliminary reading of the service trade pact in about 30 seconds.
With eight versions of a cross-strait oversight bill now under legislative review, the groups announced the launch of an online voting campaign to invite grassroots input.
“The Internet is the most powerful weapon for civic participation, which is why we aim to use the Internet to change the face of the nation’s politics,” Congress Investigational Corps member Wang Hsi (王希) said.
A Web site detailing the eight versions of the oversight bill is set to be launched on Wednesday next week to coincide with the movement’s anniversary, Wang said, adding that the group is planning a detailed online questionnaire to invite public participation.
Although President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has drafted one version of a cross-strait oversight bill, the proposal has been met with serious opposition from pro-independence groups.
The groups also urged comprehensive constitutional reforms, as events leading up to the Sunflower movement spurred discussion about the nation’s political institutions being unable to prevent presidential abuse of power.
A public forum on the oversight bill and constitutional reforms has been scheduled for Saturday next week, the groups said.
Headed by Sunflower leaders Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), a separate rally is to take place on April 10, the one-year anniversary of the day that protesters ended their 23-day occupation of the legislature’s main chamber.
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
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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