The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday proposed an interparty legislative task force to monitor the government’s cross-strait policies and interaction with China.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that while the Ministry of Economic Affairs would soon brief Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators about the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, DPP legislators were to be excluded from the session.
“The KMT treats cross-strait relations as a family affair,” Ker said.
Ker said the DPP caucus wanted Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) to convene talks this week on creating an interparty task force on cross-strait relations.
The task force would facilitate monitoring the government’s performance on sensitive cross-strait issues, he said.
Ker said the government’s signing important treaties with China without legislative approval had jeopardized the nation’s democratic system.
The DPP has asked that agreements with China be approved by the legislature and then put to a referendum before being signed, but the KMT will not cooperate, he said.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has said he hopes Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) will discuss the possibility of signing an economic agreement while meeting Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) at the next round of cross-strait talks, which are expected in May or June.
Ker said the DPP was concerned that the government would not consult legislators about the ECFA before the talks in Beijing.
The four agreements signed in November by Chiang and Chen concerning food safety and direct cross-strait sea links, flights and postal service took effect in December without completing a legislative review.
Article 95 of the Statute Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) stipulates that a cross-strait agreement automatically takes effect 30 days after being inked if the legislature does not reject it within that period.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said his party had reservations about creating a task force, depending on the purpose of the body.
If the goal would be to discuss an ECFA, he said, the legislature already has various committees to review aspects of the deal. Establishing a task force could undermine the committee system, Lin said.
Lin said the DPP needed to explain why a task force was needed.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated