Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators have proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to require former presidents and vice presidents to obtain official approval from the sitting president prior to visiting China.
The amendments were proposed by DPP legislators Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃).
According to the act, all politically appointed former officials with access to national security information are required to obtain approval from the Ministry of the Interior before visiting China in the first three years after their retirement, Lo said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
However, former presidents and vice presidents, who have superiority access to sensitive information, are exempt from the requirements, and “this gap in Taiwan’s national security makes the amendment necessary,” he said.
Chen said the president is the ultimate authority on national defense, diplomacy and cross-strait relations, and there is a need to guard state secrets that flow through the Presidential Office.
The proposed amendments would require former presidents and vice presidents to obtain permission from the sitting president before visiting China and would oblige them to disclose their itinerary and purpose of travel, Chen said.
The proposed measures would protect national security and encourage mutual trust and respect between former and current presidents, Chen added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) opposed the proposed amendments, saying that DPP lawmakers were clearly and improperly targeting President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is to leave office on May 20.
The proposal lacked “rationality and necessity,” Wang added.
Wang said the proposal undermined the spirit of president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) calls for bipartisanship and would create “futile complications” to political cooperation between parties.
Former presidents should be encouraged to contribute to cross-strait relations, and it is “hardly desirable” to limit the ability of “former heads of state” to travel, Wang said.
The incoming administration is unlikely to inherit the KMT government’s good relations with China, and the DPP should consider preserving channels of communication with Beijing, she added.
The DPP should “have more vision” and refrain from taking actions that “solely concern Ma as an individual,” Wang said.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
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
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