Premier Simon Chang (張善政) yesterday said that between 20 and 30 bills among the 149 bills sent to the Legislative Yuan have been marked as “priority bills,” including controversial drafts establishing an oversight mechanism for the cross-strait agreements and long-term care service insurance bill.
Chang said in a radio interview yesterday that the priority bills the Executive Yuan identified are those that are deemed important, adding that the government understands that the bills might not be completely accepted by the legislature, but hopes the two sides could have an open mind when discussing them.
“For example, the long-term care service insurance act: The Executive Yuan upholds the version using the idea of insurance [for the funding of the service] while the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] calls for increasing [certain] taxes,” Chang said, adding that the Executive Yuan’s version is not “worthless” and has its pluses.
Photo: CNA
“I wish to pass a version that condenses the strong points of the two proposals,” he said.
However, the most controversial bill is for institutionalizing a cross-strait agreement oversight mechanism.
“There are versions that call for the participation of legislators in the cross-strait negotiations, or holding civil servants legally accountable when the negotiation yields unacceptable outcomes, which would place great pressure on civil officials,” Chang said.
When asked about the idea of a “two-state doctrine” being embedded in the version proposed by civil groups, in which the wording presupposes the negotiation takes place between two states (the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China), the premier said the DPP should act pragmatically.
“Unless you plan to stop talking to [China] in the years to come, I think we need to take [China’s] stance into consideration. You have to be practical. However, how and to what extent are the questions that need be carefully weighed by the DPP and Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文),” he said.
In response to the DPP and the New Power Party caucuses’ call for a suspension of the review of an application to acquire cable and Internet services provider China Network Systems Co, the premier said the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Investment Commission has not scheduled a review for the case, adding that because the commission is an independent committee, the Executive Yuan would not intervene in its operation.
“However, if the legislature reaches a resolution requiring the commission to halt the review before the committee schedules a review, it is very likely that the commission would respect the decision,” Chang added.
He nevertheless said he was concerned about Taiwanese mistrust of foreign acquisition, which might hinder the nation’s entry into regional economic organizations.
“When I was dealing with [the country’s intended application for joining] the TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership] and RCEP [Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership], some told us that Taiwan’s review of foreign investment is not transparent enough. This clearly shows that, for Taiwan to be a member of the TPP or RCEP, a lack of transparency would be a barrier.”
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
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,
RSS