The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday tabled an extemporaneous motion on the legislative floor calling on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government to issue a formal announcement supporting Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, as many other countries have already done.
The motion called on the government to release an official statement to support Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrations and denounce the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, rather than oral remarks made only when questioned.
The DPP caucus said China’s “one country, two systems” has long been held in disdain by Taiwanese, who have direct presidential elections and a democratic system.
“In contrast, the Hong Kong that has been ruled under the so-called principle of ‘one country, two systems’ has risen against the ‘bird-cage-style election’ and called for a ‘real’ one,” it said. “However, their taking to the streets to fight for their basic rights to democracy and freedom has been met with armed police, tear gas and forced dispersion. [We] suggest that our government issue an official announcement voicing support for the actions of Hong Kong’s people and denouncing the governments of the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for their violent crackdown.”
The motion was passed without opposition, but the legislature’s extemporaneous motions are generally advisory in nature, with no legal effect.
DPP Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) said that the UK, the US and Japan have all made official statements about Hong Kong’s Occupy Central movement and urged the government to follow their lead because Premier Jiang Yi-huah’s (江宜樺) remarks made in the legislature in Taipei on Monday did not represent the country.
Jiang said he would consider the motion and decide after further discussion with related departments.
DPP Legislator Chen Chih-mai (陳其邁) asked Jiang whether the government has been paying attention to the movements of China’s People’s Liberation Army and the security forces, or is making plans to respond to possible emergencies, such as the evacuation of Taiwanese from Hong Kong.
Jiang’s and a Mainland Affairs Council official’s vague answers prompted criticim from Chen, who accused the Executive Yuan of failing to follow the situation closely.
Chen also criticized Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-jen (陳威仁) for his remarks on Monday calling the events in the territory “Hong Kong’s own business.”
The minister said it had been a “misunderstanding” and added that it is normal for people to voice their opinions, but they should remain rational and “law-abiding.”
When asked by DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) whether he deemed the Hong Kong authorities’ use of tear gas appropriate, Jiang said he would not comment on the policies of another country’s government.
Meanwhile, the DPP held an international press conference in Taipei expressing support for Hong Kongers fighting for democracy in a peaceful manner and calling on the authorities in Beijing to listen to the voices of Hong Kong’s citizens.
Additional reporting by Su Fang-ho
PRECISION STRIKES: The most significant reason to deploy HIMARS to outlying islands is to establish a ‘dead zone’ that the PLA would not dare enter, a source said A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) would be deployed to Penghu County and Dongyin Island (東引) in Lienchiang County (Matsu) to force the Chinese military to retreat at least 100km from the coastline, a military source said yesterday. Taiwan has been procuring HIMARS and Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the US in batches. Once all batches have been delivered, Taiwan would possess 111 HIMARS units and 504 ATACMS, which have a range of 300km. Considering that “offense is the best defense,” the military plans to forward-deploy the systems to outlying islands such as Penghu and Dongyin so that
WHAT WAS ALL THAT FOR? Jaw Shaw-kong said that Cheng Li-wen had pushed for more drastic cuts and attacked him, just for the outcome to be nearly identical to his bill The legislature yesterday passed a supplementary budget bill to fund the purchase of separate packages of US military equipment, with the combined amount of spending capped at NT$780 billion (US$24.8 billion). The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their legislative majority to pass the bill, which runs until 2033 and has two main funding provisions. One was for NT$300 billion of arms sales already approved by the US for Taiwan on Dec. 17 last year, the other was for NT$480 billion for another arms package expected to be announced by Washington. The bill, which fell short of the NT$1.25
A former television news host and six military personnel — active and retired — have been indicted on espionage charges, Kaohsiung prosecutors said yesterday. Lin Chen-you (林宸佑), a former CTi News host and YouTuber, last year allegedly made videos at the direction of a Chinese agent criticizing the Democratic Progressive Party’s recall campaign, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office told a news conference in Kaohsiung. He allegedly received 4,325 tether coins for the videos from an unidentified person surnamed Huang (黃), believed to be an agent of a hostile foreign power, they said. Lin, also known as Ma Te (馬德), has a show named
‘CRITICAL MOMENT’: Any delay in the passage of the remaining funds would weaken Taiwan’s security and play into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, the AIT said While welcoming the Legislative Yuan’s approval of a supplementary defense budget, the US Department of State said that further delays to Taiwan military spending are a “concession” to China. The remarks came after the legislature on Friday passed the budget bill to fund the purchase of separate packages of military equipment from the US, with total spending capped at NT$780 billion (US$24.82 billion). One package allocates NT$300 billion for arms sales approved by the US for Taiwan on Dec. 17 last year, while the other sets aside NT$480 billion for an arms package expected to be announced by Washington. The
RSS