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.
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Donald Trump vowed to reward his supporters, while President William Lai said he was confident the Taiwan-US partnership would continue Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the US early yesterday morning, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts. With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. As of press time last night, The Associated Press had Trump on 277 electoral college votes to 224 for US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, with Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Michigan and Nevada yet to finalize results. He had 71,289,216 votes nationwide, or 51 percent, while Harris had 66,360,324 (47.5 percent). “We’ve been through so
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