Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Acting Chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) yesterday urged president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) not to let her pledges to push for transitional justice descend into “cheesy political slogans,” in her latest round of barbs aimed at the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) legislative proposals.
“Tsai promised modesty after she won last month’s presidential election. However, the DPP caucus has tabled a series of controversial proposals, such as those concerning the removal of portraits of Republic of China [ROC] founding father Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) from public buildings and ‘ill-gotten’ party assets,” Huang said.
Huang said Tsai has listed transitional justice as one of her five major political reform plans and vowed to cement momentum for reform via collaboration.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
“What exactly do you [Tsai] plan to transition to, justice or hatred?” Huang asked, urging the DPP chairperson to explain herself.
Huang said DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng’s (高志鵬) proposed amendment to the Oath Act (宣誓條例) — seeking to abolish the requirement that officials take the oath of office while facing portraits of Sun — has sparked fears that it is the first step in a DPP plan to do away with the ROC.
While the KMT is currently a minority in the legislature, it would nevertheless make an all-out effort to oppose Gao’s proposal, Huang said, reiterating the party’s unwavering determination to defend the ROC.
Regarding the issue of the KMT’s assets, Huang said the party plans to subject the issue to openness and public scrutiny, as evidenced by the KMT caucus’ submission of three draft bills, including a draft political party act, to address the matter on Tuesday.
“The KMT will subject its party assets to the most stringent standards. We will not take a cent from any assets that are deemed illegal,” Huang said.
Huang also cast doubt on the DPP’s version of a proposed presidential transition act, which she said some academics fear might be unconstitutional, including Academia Sinica associate researcher Huang Cheng-yi (黃丞儀), who has said that the bill is not only unconstitutional, but also irresponsible.
The KMT supports the institutionalization of presidential transitions and does not oppose the legislation of the process, but it cannot tolerate unconstitutional regulations, Huang said, adding that the DPP itself spoke against the passing of such an act in 2008.
The KMT has argued that the DPP’s proposal would restrict the presidential powers granted by the Constitution, citing proposed regulations that govern what an outgoing president may do, which tasks should be transferred to the president-elect and the legal status of the incoming president.
“If the DPP insists on carrying out political vendettas against its opponents under the pretext of transitional justice, its actions would certainly not be welcomed by the public,” Huang said.
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened 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), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS