The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) could be in violation of stipulations that prohibit engaging in cross-strait negotiations or agreements without government authorization, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
The Council slammed a recent meeting between a KMT delegation and Chinese officials in Beijing, saying that public condemnation of the trip would be the KMT's severest punishment. But officials said they are not ruling out the possibility of legal action against the members of the delegation.
Outgoing Council Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (
The act also stipulates that violators can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison or a minimum fine of NT$200,000 and a maximum of NT$2 million.
The 30-member KMT delegation, led by party Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤), hammered out a ten-point agreement on trade, travel and commercial ties with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) representatives on Wednesday. The agreement comes at a sensitive juncture in cross-strait relations, with Beijing's recent passage of its "Anti-Secession" Law and a subsequent rally in Taipei protesting the legislation.
Chiu said that whether or not legal action would be taken against the KMT delegation would be decided after the group returned to Taiwan with details about the content and nature of the agreement.
The KMT's trip has been touted as the first contact between the former foes in over 50 years, and is seen as an indication of reconciliation between the two parties.
The KMT fled to Taiwan after being defeated by the CCP during the Civil War.
The delegation was given a high profile reception by high-level Chinese officials, including director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council Chen Yunlin (
However, the merrymaking in Beijing caused anger in Taipei, with the government warning that in addition to violating laws governing cross-strait negotiations, the KMT delegation could be in breach of constitutional separation of powers.
"As a general principle, we don't comment on non-governmental interaction across the Strait, but the KMT's trip is in violation of the workings of democratic governance," Chiu said, adding that the distinct roles of the legislative and executive branches had to be respected.
"The legislative branch should not take on the executive branch's duties," Chiu said. "This clearly violates the system of governance stipulated in our Constitution."
In light of the recent surge of interest in visiting China, the MAC said again in a statement yesterday that Beijing's Anti-Secession Law was adopted unilaterally, and as such had angered the Taiwanese and resulted in international criticism.
Following Chiang's trip to China, several political figures have also indicated a desire to meet with the Chinese authorities. Plans for KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
The KMT also expects to send another delegation to Beijing towards the end of the month to discuss cross-strait charter flights and agricultural exports. PFP Legislator and Tainan County Farmers' Association chairman Tsai Sheng-chia (蔡勝佳) also has plans to visit China in coming weeks. KMT Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) also said he would like to invite Wu Bangguo (吳邦國), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, to Taiwan.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
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.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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