The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would redraft a proposed bill on monitoring cross-strait agreements in line with the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, meaning the terms “Taiwan” and “China” would be changed to “Taiwan Area” and “Mainland Area.”
“We will submit an official caucus proposal for a bill to monitor cross-strait negotiations and agreements by the end of the month,” DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said after a meeting to prepare DPP lawmakers for the legislative session scheduled to begin today. “As for the name of the bill, we will refer to the ROC constitutional framework; we will not use the names we used in the past.”
Ker said that as the new bill is to conform with the ROC constitutional framework, not only would its title be changed, but some of its content would also be adjusted.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The original bill drafted by the DPP in the previous legislature was called “Regulations for Handling Agreements between Taiwan and China,” with a preamble stating that the law was meant to regulate issues concerning the signing of agreements between Taiwan and China.
However, since the caucus has decided to follow the ROC constitutional framework, the terms “Taiwan” and “China” would be changed to “Taiwan Area” and “Mainland Area” in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws on cross-strait issues.
New Power Party executive chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said Ker’s comments were unclear and that the DPP had an obligation to explain if and why its position had changed.
The “framework of the Constitution of the Republic of China” can be interpreted in different ways, depending on which part of the Constitution is referenced, Huang said.
He said that if the “framework” refers to the sovereignty invested by the Constitution in Taiwanese, it would not necessarily represent a denial of the “two states” dictum (兩國論), which was premised on the legal theory that the nation has already achieved de facto independence as a result of constitutional amendments passed during the democratization process.
Any framework that relegates Taiwan to the status of an “area” of the Republic of China and includes a Chinese “mainland” would be “unacceptable,” he said.
“We have invested a lot of energy into constructing a Taiwanese national consciousness and most Taiwanese have already accepted the fact that China and Taiwan are different countries — do you really want to go back 20 years and say that we are really ‘one country with two areas’?” Huang said.
The “one country with two areas” stance goes against common sense, while the 11th amendment which enshrined it into the Constitution was illegitimate because it had been passed by “lifelong” lawmakers who held their seats from 1949 until 1992, he said.
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS