Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Act Governing Relations between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) that would allow mayors and county commissioners to visit China without seeking permission.
The proposal, initiated by KMT legislators Chu Fong-chi (朱鳳芝), Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠) and others, would also lift cross-strait travel restrictions on high-ranking public servants and police officers.
The Act requires senior public servants, senior police officers and officials of various agencies related to national security to apply with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) for approval to travel to China.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
It also requires mayors and commissioners to obtain approval from a committee of officials from the MOI, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the National Security Bureau (NSB) before visiting China.
Chu said the restrictions make trips to China inconvenient and ineffective for mayors and county commissioners.
Mayors and county commissioners could promote Taiwan’s agricultural products, tourism, business and culture in China, she said, adding that their posts did not concern issues of national security.
The proposal says that only officials from the Ministry of National Defense, the NSB, the MOJ’s Investigation Bureau and public servants working with national security issues should be restricted from visiting China.
The legislature’s Internal Administration Committee is scheduled to review the amendment on Wednesday.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said it opposed the amendment.
Senior officials could leak information on national security if they make frequent visits to China without restrictions, DPP caucus whip Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) said.
Lee said that in a number of cases, government officials from various agencies had been charged with spying for China.
“The proposed amendment would hurt Taiwan’s national interests and put the county in danger,” Lee said. “Such an amendment is irresponsible because it was proposed without a thorough review of its potential impact on national security.”
In related news, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday disagreed on communication between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
While Lu said she was in favor of abolishing the party-to-party platform, Wang said it remained essential.
The two made the remarks at a fundraising event in Taipei.
Wang said the KMT and CCP had both been founded in China and had been at odds for a long time. Now they have begun interacting and set up a platform that serves as a buffer and a preliminary communication channel, he said.
Lu said she could not know whether any secret deals were being made between the KMT and CCP, but that the KMT could not represent the government or President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in negotiating.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS