Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators have agreed to reconsider proposed amendments to the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例), after criticism that it would open the door to Chinese infiltration and undermine national security.
The proposal was submitted earlier in the week by KMT legislators Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生) and Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍), who represent Lienchiang and Kinmen counties.
During a legislative interpellation session yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators requested to return the proposal to the Procedure Committee for further deliberation, and the motion was approved without objection from other parties.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) told a news conference yesterday that his party would not support the proposal, as it would allow Chinese firms to tender for industrial development and public construction projects.
“We believe this has far-reaching consequences, and so the TPP would not support it. We do not agree to change the Offshore Islands Development Act this way, to specially open up a backdoor to address the economic and labor issues there. It is not a suitable way to solve these problems,” Huang said.
Meanwhile, there were also reports of disagreement within the KMT, with some party members reported as being lukewarm about the proposal and not wanting to endorse it, believing it is not the right time to introduce another highly contentious bill that could attract negative reactions from the public.
During the interpellation session, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the amendments would have an “impact on government projects for airports, harbors, bridges and other important public construction works.”
“It would impact our national security, and we need to also consider safety and quality of work issues on major public construction projects... So I sincerely ask all legislators to consider national security as the top priority when reviewing the legislation,” Cho said.
After objections to the motion, the proposal was returned to the Procedure Committee for reconsideration.
However, KMT caucus leaders said they would not rule out bringing it out of the committee to vote on in the coming months.
Speaking on behalf of fellow party members, DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said the amendments were KMT efforts to introduce China’s Belt and Road Initiative to Taiwan.
On Thursday, the Mainland Affairs Council said it “cannot agree with the proposed amendments,” citing national security risks.
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