The Ministry of the Interior should disclose records on elected officials’ and civil servants’ trips to China to allow transparency and accountability, Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairman Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) said yesterday
Releasing the records would enable citizens to scrutinize the activities of their representatives during visits to China, to deter collusion and “gray zone” tactics from eroding Taiwan’s democracy, Wang said.
“Since President William Lai (賴清德) has designated China as a ‘foreign hostile force,’ our government must implement enhanced national security regulations,” he said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The ministry should disclose trips to China by elected officials and civil servants, releasing itineraries and records at regular intervals, he said.
The Executive Yuan last week approved amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) that would require legislators, city and county councilors, and other elected representatives to file reports and disclose trips to China in which they met with Chinese government or Chinese Communist Party officials, or visited military sites.
The Taiwan Statebuilding Party endorses the Cabinet’s efforts to enhance transparency on these trips to protect national security, Wang said.
However, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party holding a majority in the legislature, it is not possible to pass the amendments, as the opposition has repeatedly rejected legislation related to national security, he said.
“While we expect the opposition parties to impede the amendments, the Cabinet can still exercise its executive power,” Wang said.
Elected officials serve the public, and legislators especially have the power to review and approve the government’s budget, making strict public oversight essential, he said.
People expect their elected officials to be held to higher standards, and officials should not be able to hide behind the excuse of “personal privacy” to evade public scrutiny of their trips to China, he said.
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