The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday blocked a proposal by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to write into the Referendum Act (公民投票法) that holding political talks with China would require referendums before and after all negotiations.
Holding a majority at the legislature’s Procedure Committee, KMT lawmakers voted not to put the proposed amendment to the Referendum Act and 66 other bills onto the legislative agenda for the plenary sessions on Friday and Tuesday next week.
That the DPP proposed revising the Referendum Act at this moment was “nothing but an election tactic,” KMT Legislator Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said. “Although the amendment is well-intended, the content was carelessly written. The legislature can’t pass a bill like this.”
The DPP proposed the amendment after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pledged that he would not sign a peace agreement with China if it failed to pass a referendum.
Lin accused the DPP of applying double standards, saying that the DPP did not ask for the inclusion of such articles in the Referendum Act when DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) proposed a cross-strait peace agreement when she was the head of the Mainland Affairs Council, but found fault with Ma when he proposed a similar idea.
“The proposal to amend the Referendum Act is a phony issue. The DPP’s main purpose is to paralyze the legislature so that it can accuse President Ma of being incompetent,” KMT caucus whip Chao Li-yun (趙麗雲) said.
DPP caucus whip Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) said she was disappointed and upset by the boycott. She slammed the KMT veto, saying it proved that Ma’s proposed cross-strait peace accord was nothing more than a campaign gambit.
Ma earlier this month said “cautious consideration” would be given to signing a cross-strait peace pact within a decade, under several preconditions.
Tsai said she was sorry to learn that the proposal had been blocked by the KMT.
“However, if President Ma is sincere in fulfilling his commitment of allowing the 23 million Taiwanese to determine their future through referendums, he should work toward the institutionalization of referendums,” Tsai said.
With the KMT’s blocking of the proposal, Taiwanese have witnessed the inconsistency of Ma’s position on referendums, she said, adding that the DPP would continue to promote the institutionalization of referendums.
With references to the Republic of China (ROC) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the text of its proposal, the DPP tried to highlight the state-to state status of relations across the Taiwan Strait, DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said after the proposal was blocked.
The KMT move showed that its determination to safeguard the ROC’s sovereignty was questionable, he said.
The DPP still hopes the KMT will agree to a bilateral consultation on the legislation by Friday, after Tsai Ing-wen proposed on Friday last week that talks on the matter be held within a week.
In the press conference, Tsai Huang-liang said Ma’s statement on Monday that negotiations for a peace agreement with China would need “10 guarantees” and be conducted “under the framework of the ROC Constitution” and promote bilateral engagement based on the so-called “1992 consensus” were “contradictory” because the Constitution does not recognize the PRC’s sovereignty.
Ma referred to the 10 guarantees as “one framework, two prerequisites, three principles and four assurances.”
The first guarantee is maintaining no unification, no independence and no use of force under the framework of the ROC Constitution, while promoting cross-strait exchanges based on the “1992 consensus,” which allows both sides to recognize “one China,” but differ on its precise political definition.
Negotiating a cross-strait peace accord would only be possible when two prerequisites are met — a high degree of domestic consensus and mutual trust between Taipei and Beijing, he said.
It would also have to meet the true needs of the country, have strong public support and be supervised by the legislature, Ma said.
In addition, talks on a peace agreement would have to safeguard the ROC’s sovereignty, Taiwan’s safety and prosperity, ethnic harmony and cross-strait peace, as well as a sustainable environment and just society, he said.
Meanwhile, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) told reporters that any cross-strait peace agreement should involve a third country so that the agreement would be an international agreement, rather than one only between Taiwan and China.
Additional reporting by CNA
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
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS