An international alliance of political parties has expressed concerns about a lack of transparency and due procedure in the trade talks between Taiwan and China, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
“The Liberal International [LI] expresses its deep concern at the excessive use of force by Taiwanese police against the on-going student and civil protests in Taiwan, as well as a lack of transparency and violation of due process in the government’s negotiation of the trade pact with China,” the DPP quoted the group’s press release as saying.
Established in 1947, the London-based LI is a federation of more than 100 political parties around the world.
The LI, which organized its plenary from between Wednesday and Saturday in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, called on the Taiwanese government to respect the civil right of peaceful protest.
Liu Shih-chung (劉世忠), director of the DPP’s Department of International Affairs, briefed the annual congress about the Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration’s negotiation process with China for a cross-strait service trade pact, as well as the follow-up Sunflower movement and the police’s brutal crackdown after protesters occupied the Executive Yuan compound on March 23 and 24.
The LI resolution encouraged Taiwan to uphold its status as an exemplary democracy in the region, to ensure impartial implementation of the rule of law and to further develop the legislative framework for protection of human rights and minority rights.
“Liberal International emphasizes the importance of the principle of self-determination of the people of Taiwan,” the alliance said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
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