Lawmakers yesterday traded barbs over a proposed new residents’ rights protection act (新住民權益保障法草案) after the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) threatened to withdraw its support in objection to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) saying that it was pandering to China by reducing the waiting period for Chinese nationals to obtain Taiwanese citizenship.
During cross-party negotiations on Friday, the DPP, the TPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) reached agreements on two related bills: the new residents’ rights protection act proposed by the Executive Yuan and the new residents’ basic act (新住民基本法草案) proposed by lawmakers.
Earlier yesterday, the DPP said the the TPP, together with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), was opening a backdoor to Beijing by changing the agreement to include clauses that would allow Chinese nationals to obtain Taiwanese citizenship within a shorter time frame, enabling them to access rights and benefits as a citizen while undermining national security.
Photo: CNA
Denying the allegations at a news conference, TPP caucus deputy whip Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said the DPP was vilifying the party when the TPP was only fixing the proposed bills to ensure equal and fair treatment for all new residents, irrespective of where they came from.
TPP caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) defended TPP Legislator Mach Ngoc Tran (麥玉珍), formerly a Vietnamese citizen, saying Mach had been unfairly attacked by other lawmakers when she had only been working to improve the rights of and ensure fair treatment for foreign spouses, and that she had made numerous compromises during the cross-party negotiations.
“We have therefore decided that Vivian Huang and Mach would introduce a motion withdrawing the TPP’s signature from the agreement made by the three parties,” Huang said.
“The TPP will also raise a new motion introducing the amendments decided by the party. If the legislature fails to reach a consensus, we will follow the legislative procedure in the coming days,” he added.
At a news conference in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, DPP caucus director Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) reiterated the party’s stance, saying that most people are worried about the impact of the two bills on national security and Taiwanese sovereignty.
“TPP members are cowards, unable to face criticism and challenges from other lawmakers. They are unhappy when their political motives are exposed, so they threaten to withdraw the agreement from the cross-party negotiations. They are acting like babies,” Wu said.
“They also engage in rumor-mongering and try to vilify the DPP government by saying it does not care about new immigrants,” she said, adding that the central government has implemented many new policies and programs to help foreign spouses and new residents settle in Taiwan, including subsidies for pregnancy tests and other healthcare items, as well as free occupation training classes.
DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said the TPP was colluding with the KMT to push motions that would reduce the citizenship processing period for Chinese nationals from six year to four years.
“This would severaly undermine our national security... The TPP is using its withdrawal from the agreement as an excuse to force the bills to go to a vote, which it, together with the KMT, can ram through the legislature,” Lin said.
KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) said it is regretful to see the latest developments, and the DPP caucus should issue a sincere apology to Mach and other TPP lawmakers.
Hung said that the three parties had held legislative committee meetings on the proposed new residents’ rights protection act and made changes before reaching a consensus after two rounds of cross-party negotiations.
“But afterwards, DPP members posted messages disparaging the TPP, which has harmed the mutual trust we had built up between parties during the negotiations,” he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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