Thu, May 21, 2020 page3

• Presidential Inauguration: Groups lament cross-strait ‘status quo’

  PANDEMIC SHIFT: Taiwan might miss out on an opportunity to expand its international space if it insists on adhering to the ‘status quo,’ one pro-independence advocate said

  • By Wu Su-wei and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Pro-independence political parties yesterday lamented Tsai’s adhering to the “status quo” and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) in her second inaugural address.

  The Taiwan Statebuilding Party had on Tuesday called on Tsai to avoid emphasizing the act, which refers to an inevitable unification of Taiwan and China.

  The Taiwan Statebuilding Party yesterday said it was regrettable that Tsai had maintained her stance on adhering to the act, and said it would press forward with promoting its proposed bill on China relations, which would break the impasse caused by references to inevitable unification.

  

  New Power Party Chairman Hsu Yung-ming takes a selfie during President Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: Screen grab from Hsu Yung-ming’s Facebook page

  “Under the limitations of the current laws and Constitution, how can the administration lead Taiwan in presenting itself as a country? How can it act pre-emptively and reinvent itself?” the party said.

  While the party understands the weight of the governing party’s responsibilities, and the limitations it faces, Taiwan should not limit itself at “this important moment for transformation,” it said.

  The government should speed up the process of desinicization of Taiwan, it said, adding that the government should “imitate the governments of the US and Japan, and help industry pull out of China.”

  Reducing Taiwan’s economic reliance on China is also important to protecting trade secrets and sensitive technologies, it said, adding that the government must better scrutinize those in politics who have significant investments in China.

  The government should establish an agency similar to Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which would allow independent review of political parties suspected of undermining the nation’s democracy, which should be disbanded, it said.

  New Power Party (NPP) Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said he was happy to see Tsai bring up the issue of constitutional amendment during her address.

  However, he said he was concerned that in reiterating her administration’s adherence to the “status quo” in cross-strait relations, Taiwan might miss the opportunity to develop its international space amid a shifting international perception during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Hsu and NPP caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) wore pink to Tsai’s inauguration ceremony to call attention to what they said is a worsening gender imbalance in the Executive Yuan, with the new Cabinet having fewer female members.

  The two NPP members also urged Tsai to move forward with a proposal to lower the voting age to 18, which they said already has wide public support.

  Hsu said he had spoken to Democratic Progressive Party caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) at the ceremony, and the two agreed that a constitutional amendment committee should be established.

  However, opposition parties would need to be consulted before such a committee could be established, he added.
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