The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused opposition parties of taking orders from Beijing to stall Taiwan’s special defense budget.
A group of seven KMT Legislators, including Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲), Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之) and Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) attended an event in Xiamen hosted by the Xiamen Taiwan Businessmen Association over the weekend, where they met officials from Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office. The subject of their discussions was not divulged, leading to grave concern.
“KMT legislators rushed to fly to China, even though there is still lots of important work in the legislature. When asked, they refused to discuss their trip to Xiamen. Are they reporting to Chinese officials, who are now in charge of the KMT?” DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
“Beijing’s stance is firm: Taiwan must not purchase any new weapons. The KMT should inform our public why they needed to rush to Xiamen to confer with Chinese officials so their intentions are clear, as they seem to take orders from China and act as their proxies here in Taiwan,” Wu said.
Weng yesterday said that when the legislative Procedure Committee meets today she would use her position as co-convener of the committee and would not place the bill on the schedule.
“Weng’s decision to stall the special defense budget defies majority public opinion. KMT legislators continue to defy prevailing public sentiment, receiving orders and acting as proxies for the Chinese government. We urge Taiwanese to closely watch what KMT members are doing,” Wu said.
KMT Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲), acting as the KMT Culture and Communications Committee head, yesterday said there is a great deal of trade between Taiwan and China.
The government encourages businesses to make money in China while allowing those same businesses to be treated like orphans in China, he said.
DPP officials are concerned over the potential of being detained by Chinese authorities, so it is the opposition party that tries to understand the needs of Taiwanese businesses, he said.
“We are doing our best to address this, but the current government is using this to smear us,” Wu said.
Head of the business association Han Ying-huan (韓螢煥) said the legislators attended the association’s celebration as part of a private event, and it was simply an exchange. Taiwanese businesspeople hope that both sides of the Taiwan Strait can coexist peacefully without unnecessary disruptions, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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