“Bombs” in an anti-infiltration bill proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) might end with him being accused of breaking the law if the wording is not clearly defined, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
Ko, who is also chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, made the comments on the sidelines of a campaign event in Kaohsiung when asked about the DPP’s aim to pass the bill on Tuesday, the last day of the legislative session.
“To be against a foreign force’s interference in Taiwan’s politics and elections — wow, with this kind of aim, no one dares oppose it,” Ko said. “But the important part is the content, because it regulates businesspeople and other Taiwanese in China.”
Photo: CNA
Definitions in the bill must be clear and the DPP should let people know about the “bombs” in it, so that they do not accidently break the law, he said.
For example, the preferred bidder in Taipei’s Twin Towers project was not at first deemed to be a Chinese-funded enterprise by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, but later the Investment Commission decided it was and raised national security concerns, he said.
“All the decisions were arbitrarily made by [the DPP administration],” Ko said.
China’s largest video-on-demand provider, iQiyi (愛奇藝), was contracted to run the live broadcast of this year’s New Year’s Eve event in Taipei, Ko said, adding that the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture both expressed concern.
“There are still many Chinese companies in Taiwan, so you [the government] should make the rules clear in advance, or else we will face a problem after we have already contracted out a project,” he said, adding that with unclear definitions, he might be the first person accused of breaching the anti-infiltration act, because of the New Year’s Eve event.
Separately yesterday, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who is also the party’s presidential candidate, said there are many signs showing that the DPP is pushing its anti-infiltration bill through with undue haste.
“Discussion on the proposed bill has been rushed through, definitions in the act remain unclear and cross-ministerial discussions have not yet taken place, so how will loopholes be mended on an operational level?” Soong said.
The PFP is not trying to be unreasonable by blocking the bill, but rather it is emphasizing the importance of upholding procedural justice and public opinion, Soong said.
Legislators who represent the latest public opinion are about to be elected on Jan. 11, and the DPP administration should allow them to decide the bill’s fate, he said.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) behavior is unprecedented, as no president of a democratic country would interfere with when a legislature passes a bill, let alone legislation critical to people’s livelihoods and national security.
The DPP is so eager to pass the bill before the end of this legislative session “because it knows that it has lost people’s support and might lose in the presidential and legislative elections,” Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, said yesterday. “That is why it wants to pass a controversial law before the presidential election.”
Former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), head of Han’s campaign headquarters, said that waging political squabbles in the name of safeguarding national security would cause democracy in the nations to backslide.
Every party supports improving national security — the KMT firmly supports it — but using legislation to carry out politicking might return society to martial law, he said, calling for the bill to be thoroughly discussed by all parties.
Additional reporting by Yang Hsin-hui
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