Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen’s (陳玉珍) proposed amendments for outlying islands would turn Kinmen County into a “special trade zone” for China, posing a serious economic and military threat to Taiwan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said yesterday.
The proposal to amend the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例) would establish free-trade zones on the islands, especially in Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, which are near China’s Fujian Province, DPP caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said.
The bill would allow China to “infiltrate Taiwan” through economic activities, endangering Taiwan’s sovereignty, Chung said.
Photo: CNA
The KMT has introduced numerous versions of the amendments over the years, which faced pushback and criticism from the public, DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said.
“No matter what version the KMT proposed, the bills were not that different,” Shen said.
The KMT is attempting to use the Offshore Islands Development Act to weaken the central government’s authority in Kinmen and Matsu, he said.
“In earlier versions, the bills sought to eliminate all central government authority over the islands, to empower the local governments to directly negotiate with China,” he said.
Chen’s proposal would open a backdoor for Chinese influence, with the free-trade zones enabling Beijing to enhance its political and economic influence over Taiwan, DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said.
The proposed amendments were sent directly to a second reading on Dec. 2 last year, and could be approved by the legislature as early as this week, as a one-month negotiation freeze has expired.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
RSS