Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday accused President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of breaking her pledge to abide by the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution with her choice of nominees for Judicial Yuan president and grand justices who apparently support the “two states” doctrine.
“Judicial Yuan president nominee Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) and grand justice nominees Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄) and Hwang Jau-yuan (黃昭元) share something in common: They are all champions of the ‘two states’ doctrine,” Hung said on Facebook.
Huang said she is indignant at the length Tsai went through to place supporters of the “two states” doctrine in a position that entitles them to issue constitutional interpretations.
Hung said Tsai’s description of the ROC as a government-in-exile in 2010 and criticism of the nation’s constitutional system as an impediment in a letter she wrote to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members for the party’s 30th anniversary last month all constitute reneging on her commitment to “comply with the ROC Constitution.”
Hung’s remarks follow Hsu Tzong-li’s and Hsu Chih-hsiung’s confirmation hearings at the legislature on Thursday last week and Monday respectively.
Hsu Tzong-li described Taiwan-China relations within a “special state-to-state” model that is similar to the relationship between West and East Germany, adding that the ROC’s sovereignty does not include China.
Hsu Chih-hsiung made a similar comment, saying: “Taiwan is a sovereign nation, which no one can dispute. The People’s Republic of China is also a nation, on which we all agree.”
He also said that the ROC Constitution, which was formulated in China, is out of touch with Taiwanese society.
Accusing Tsai of tricking voters into supporting her by saying that she would maintain the cross-strait “status quo” if elected, Hung said Tsai might try to push the “two states” doctrine through constitutional interpretations.
“As president of the ROC, Tsai is obliged to defend the Constitution. We are not Germany after World War II,” Hung said, urging Tsai to keep her promises and refrain from jeopardizing the hard-earned cross-strait peace by attempting to change the “status quo.”
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said there was no need to read too much into the personal comments made by grand justice nominees based on their legal training and understanding of the values of freedom and democracy.
“The government’s stance has been made clear in Tsai’s inaugural address and Double Ten National Day speech, which is to promote cross-strait peace in accordance with the ROC Constitution, the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) and other laws,” Huang said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS