Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) yesterday said he disapproved of family members of the country’s cross-strait negotiators doing business in China.
Liu made the remarks in a SET-TV interview that was taped on Friday and aired last night.
Asked if family members of cross-strait negotiators were allowed to do business in China, Liu said he would prefer not to answer the question because the interviewer seemed to be referring to Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), “but, it is surely necessary to avoid anything that could draw accusations.”
Chiang tendered his resignation last Monday — although he later retracted it — amid criticism of his family’s business ties in China.
Asked whether Chiang’s son had supported his father’s decision to step down, Liu responded: “I was not referring to this case.”
On the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, Liu backed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) stance that it is unnecessary to put the matter to a referendum.
“Basically [the ECFA] is an economic issue, irrelevant to sovereignty and politics. Putting it to a referendum would eliminate any chance of rational and professional discussion on the subject because there are complicated factors involved — ideology and politics — in referendums in Taiwan,“ the premier said.
Matters put to referendums have a tendency to turn “emotional,” Liu said. However, the government would consider referendums on matters that concern “Taiwan’s future,” “politics,” or “national security,” none of which apply in the case of an ECFA, he said.
On concerns that an ECFA could affect national sovereignty, Liu said: “The opposition parties think everything involves sovereignty ... and they are free [to think so].”
Questioned about a protest planned by the Democratic Progressive Party against the Cabinet’s proposed changes to the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), Liu said he had “only a general understanding” of the draft amendment.
“I have not done a particular examination of the amendment and have only a general understanding of its contents,” Liu said, but added that it was more progressive than the current act in some aspects.
“It replaces the permission system with registration. It scraps criminal punishment. [Protests will be allowed in] previously off-limits areas [at a safe] distance,” he said.
“Not everyone is satisfied with the revisions because it is a matter that everyone has [his or her] opinion about,” he said. “I also read some [opposing] opinions and saw some reason in their argument.”
Asked why the proposal would require protesters to obtain the consent of shops along their activity route, Liu said he was not clear on the details of the amendment.
The US-Japan joint statement released on Friday not mentioning the “one China” policy might be a sign that US President Donald Trump intends to decouple US-China relations from Taiwan, a Taiwanese academic said. Following Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday, the US and Japan issued a joint statement where they reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Trump has not personally brought up the “one China” policy in more than a year, National Taiwan University Department of Political Science Associate Professor Chen Shih-min (陳世民)
‘NEVER!’ Taiwan FactCheck Center said it had only received donations from the Open Society Foundations, which supports nonprofits that promote democratic values Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has never received any donation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a cofounder of the organization wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. The Taipei-based organization was established in 2018 by Taiwan Media Watch Foundation and the Association of Quality Journalism to monitor and verify news and information accuracy. It was officially registered as a foundation in 2021. National Chung Cheng University communications professor Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a cofounder and chairman of TFC, was responding to online rumors that the TFC receives funding from the US government’s humanitarian assistance agency via the Open Society Foundations (OSF),
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
RSS