An administrative mandate to consider Chinese as Taiwanese citizens was outdated, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday, a day after the Executive Yuan ordered that agencies disregard the 30-year-old interpretation.
Chen made the remarks at an event held by the Environmental Protection Administration in Taipei following changes to the administrative mandate concerning 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 previous interpretation of the law was archaic and contrary to the workings of laws and regulations, he said, adding that the order was made to avoid unnecessary problems created by the mandate.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuan, Taipei Times
The Mainland Affairs Council would evaluate whether legislative actions would be needed to amend the law, Chen said.
The Executive Yuan’s change came three months after the High Court ordered the Kaohsiung City Government to pay NT$4.63 million (US$150,579) in state compensation after the accidental death of a Chinese citizen surnamed Qian (錢).
Qian was electrocuted by a malfunctioning street light while cycling in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) during a round-the-nation cycling tour in August 2018.
The man’s family was to receive reparations, despite the absence of reciprocal restitution arrangements with Beijing, as Chinese citizens are deemed Republic of China (ROC) nationals under the law, the court said in its ruling, citing a clarification issued by the Mainland Affairs Council.
This interpretation is contrary to mutual nonsubordination of Taiwan and China, and the apparent difference between Chinese and ROC nationals, the Executive Yuan said.
Starting from the day of issuance, the administrative mandate has been removed, and all government agencies are to amend regulations and policies accordingly, it said.
“That only ROC citizens have the rights of being Taiwanese is the [interpretation] that conforms with the spirit of the rule of law in a democratic nation,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) wrote on Facebook yesterday.
The administrative mandate has supported cognitive warfare by China, DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) added.
The order from the Cabinet would mean that judges would no longer be required to confer ROC national status to people from China, he said, adding that any such ruling would be “the personal ideological problems of the judge.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee De-wei (李德維) was cited by the Chinese-language China Times as saying that the Executive Yuan’s order is a political attack on the integrity of the judiciary and laws.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
RSS