Lawmakers are expected to begin debating draft amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) regarding a clause defining and limiting “agents of the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]” in the new legislative session.
The Legislative Yuan holds two regular sessions per year — the first from February to May and the second from September to December.
The legislative caucuses are to hold negotiations today to decide when the new session is to begin.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗), the first lawmaker to sign in for the new session yesterday, said that the KMT caucus would prioritize policies to ameliorate low wages, encourage youth entrepreneurship and promote measures to rectify and compensate people affected by the government’s pension reforms.
The Council of Grand Justices on Aug. 23 ruled as unconstitutional the regulations banning retired academics from receiving pensions if they find employment at a private university.
KMT Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) said he would prioritize allocating more budget for local infrastructure and construction projects, adding that he would look into amending the changes to pension payments.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) said his party caucus would prioritize amendments to the cross-strait relations act.
“We must face the issue, as it could affect our democracy, freedoms and national security,” he said, adding that the Chinese government is trying to undermine Taiwan’s democracy by using pro-Chinese media and funding during elections.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said that lawmakers across party lines should discuss how to completely block China and prevent any kind of Chinese influence in Taiwan.
The amendments are urgently needed, DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said, but added that the distinction between legal and illegal behavior should be unequivocally stated to prevent the law from limiting freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
The KMT is against the proposed amendment, as it would violate freedom of speech and journalistic freedoms, and would place millions of Taiwanese businesspeople at risk of litigation, Tseng said.
Taiwan should back Hong Kong, as it might very well share the same fate, Chen Ou-po said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard