TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A legislative committee on Tuesday blocked motions from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party to put the discussion of a referendum and a review committee for the planned Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on the legislative agenda. The ruling Kuomintang used its majority on the Procedure Committee to defeat the motions in a vote of 10 to 3. The DPP wanted the Legislative Yuan to discuss its proposals on April 23.
The KMT’s repeated rejection of a legislative taskforce to review the ECFA negotiations showed that the ruling party was not interested in providing the public with a transparent view of the deal with China, said DPP lawmaker Chiu Yi-ying. She added the KMT attitude clashed with past statements by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng in support of the taskforce.
KMT lawmakers said they did not oppose the DPP proposals, but doubted the need for the Legislative Yuan to be the driving force behind them.
Campaigning for a referendum was the right of the people and should not be misused by politicians, KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih said.
The opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union hopes to collect enough signatures by the end of this month to file a referendum request with the Central Election Commission and the Executive Yuan Referendum Review Commission.
The government originally rejected the idea of a referendum as unnecessary because ECFA did not affect Taiwan’s sovereignty, but recently adapted a more welcoming tone.
DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen and President Ma Ying-jeou will hold a televised debate about ECFA this coming Sunday. The opposition side requested more information about the negotiation process and the eventual content of the agreement, but the government only handed over documents already in the public domain.
Opponents of the accord plan to rally 1 million people in the streets for protests on June 6, shortly before Taiwan and China are expected to sign ECFA.
The whole world is stunned by this amazing news that totally contradicts what 吳敦義, 馬英九 and 中國國民黨 had done all their lives:
KMT has not allowed people proper referendum rights since it began its existence on 1925-08-25.
蔡丁貴教授 等 2008年10月25日立法院開始靜坐 to request a real referendum law 距今 541天(see left sidebar)
But I want to point out that 吳敦義, 馬英九 and 中國國民黨 have no more right to oppose our having a referendum than to tell us not to breathe. Have you ever heard of United States federal, state or city governments opposing citizens' initiating a referendum? The fact that this makes news tells us that 吳敦義, 馬英九 and 中國國民黨 believe they have such right. That in turns says that in their minds the real masters in Taiwan are not citizens.
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