A human rights lawyer yesterday panned the government’s recent acceptance of China’s decision to implement the controversial M503 flight route by Sunday.
Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) threatened to launch further protests next week to demand the resignation of Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) and Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言), if Beijing follows through with its plans.
The proposed civilian flight route — which runs close along the median line of the Taiwan Strait — has come under heavy fire from many in Taiwan since the plans for M503 and three other routes were announced in January.
Photo: Taipei Times
While Mao has reassured the public that the M503 route would be restricted to civilian use, critics say the plan poses a threat to national security.
At a joint press conference with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday, Lai accused President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration of circumventing legislative oversight regarding the proposed route.
Lai said that acceptance of the proposed flight route — reached after a series of meetings between the Taipei Airlines Association and the China Air Transport Association — served as a cross-strait treaty in effect, as government officials from both Taiwan and China attended the negotiations.
By law, all cross-strait agreements relating to political issues must be ratified by the legislature, Lai said, citing 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).
He questioned whether the government was conducting under-the-table negotiations with China, citing remarks made by the National Security Council that discussions over the proposed route began in June last year.
“Why would the Ma administration remain silent on the issue for half a year?” Lai asked. “Did the Ma administration keep quiet about the negotiations in the hope of facilitating a meeting between Ma and [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping, 習近平] at the APEC meeting in November?”
Although Beijing has agreed to move the flight route 6 nautical miles (11km) to the west, Lai said that the move was merely symbolic and accused Hsia of “carelessly agreeing with China’s proposals.”
Hsia said last week that a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Taiwan Affairs Office Director Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), could take place after controversies on the M503 route are resolved.
DPP legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said that the M503 route should be treated as an issue central to national security, instead of purely a matter of civilian transportation. He added that all cross-strait negotiations with China should be monitored by the legislature.
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