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) that seek to remove references to “the unification of the nation” on Friday advanced to committee review.
The proposals, sponsored by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘), Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) and Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃), say that the act is in need of amendment to reflect the reality of, and developments in, cross-strait relations, which are no longer predicated on “unifying the nation.”
One proposal seeks to change Article 1, which says that the act was drafted to guarantee the safety and interests of people in the Taiwan area; govern exchanges between people in Taiwan and China; and handle resultant legal issues “before the nation is unified.”
While retaining the language defining the act’s functions, the proposed amendments say they are meant to “respond to the needs of national development.”
An article that says beneficiaries in the mainland area who had been promised grants before 1949 would not receive those grants in full “before the nation is unified” should be changed to: “When the nation’s control only reaches Taiwan proper, Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties and their affiliated islets,” the draft amendments say.
Similarly, debts owed by state-run banks will not be repaid, and foreign currency and gold bonds issued by the government before 1949 will not be redeemed when the nation’s territory only covers Taiwan proper and Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, they say.
The four regions are the only areas governed by the nation at present, the lawmakers said.
“The Republic of China acknowledges the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China, as well as the historical fact that it has occupied the fallen mainland area,” they said.
The proposals are to be reviewed by the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee after no caucuses voiced objection to them.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) said that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, attention should rather focus on work related to disease prevention, relief and recovery.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) yesterday said that it is keeping close tabs on the proposed legislation.
“It is extremely dangerous that a handful of separatists have misread the situation and become unbridled in pushing Taiwanese independence,” TAO spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said.
The Mainland Affairs Council has said that there would be no change to its position on handling cross-strait relations: abide by the act, the Constitution and other laws, thereby maintaining the “status quo.”
The council respects lawmakers’ authority to file motions and would pay attention to opinions regarding cross-strait relations, it said.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
‘ILLEGAL RULING’: The KMT and the TPP slammed the Constitutional Court judgement, saying it contravened the law and was trying to clear the way for a ‘green dictatorship’ The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed by the Legislative Yuan last year are unconstitutional, as they contravene due legislative process and separation of powers. The Legislative Yuan on Dec. 20 last year passed amendments stipulating that no fewer than 10 grand justices must take part in deliberations of the Constitutional Court, and at least nine grand justices must agree to declare a law unconstitutional. The Executive Yuan on Jan. 2 requested that lawmakers reconsider the bill, but the Legislative Yuan, under a combined majority of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party
RSS