If China passes an "anti-secession" law as expected, it is possible that Taiwan will mount a "defensive referendum" to counter the legislation, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) suggested yesterday.
"While we are not exactly sure about the content of the proposed legislation, anything is possible if it passes into law in the form that we expect," Hsieh told the plenary legislative session yesterday morning.
"The reason that we hesitate to propose a detailed counter-measure is because we'd like the international community to know that Taiwan is a peace-loving country while China is hostile to us and is trying to foment hatred and anger in the Taiwan Strait," Hsieh said in response to a question from Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Mark Ho (
Ho asked Hsieh whether it would be possible for Taiwan to hold a referendum to counter China's planned law. According to the Referendum Law (公投法), the head of state has the right to initiate a so-called "defensive referendum" to protect the country's sovereignty when the country faces external threat to its security.
Hsieh also took the opportunity to express the government's "strongest opposition" to the proposed law.
"China's plan to pass an anti-secession law violates the earlier claim made by Chinese leaders that they respect and put their hope in Taiwanese people," he said. "If they pass the law, they are responsible for the consequences."
Hsieh, however, emphasized that the government will first focus on voicing the nation's opposition to the proposed law to the local and international communities.
"I personally think resorting to moral appeals is the most potent approach rather than adopting a dramatic method," he said. "Being irrational might please some, but does not solve the problem. Winning the support and sympathy of the international community is a more practical scheme."
Responding to the "confederate one China" concept proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party Legislator Ting Shou-chung (
"Under the premise of peace and stability, it sounds like a creative idea and is one of many possible alternatives," Hsieh said. "However, I don't think it is appropriate for the government to take the initiative."
Claiming the "confederate one China" model is conducive to easing cross-strait tension, Ting proposed to hold a popular vote and let the people of Taiwan decide whether to form such a mechanism.
While the 10-point consensus reached between President Chen Shui-bian (
He added that he expects to receive a complete report on the matter in two or three months.
"I can honestly tell you that it is hard to push for a change to the national title because we do not enjoy a legislative majority," he said.
Regarding constitutional reform, Hsieh said that while it is difficult for the government to push for such a cause, he said he would like to see the private sector and opposition parties undertake that task.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
RSS