May 30, 2014
Mac News Release No. 051
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi stated today (May 30, 2014) that the government is promoting cross-strait agreements to normalize and institutionalize cross-strait exchanges and thereby enhance mutual understanding between the two sides. The design of the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act should therefore be based on the the principles that "cross-strait exchanges must continue and the supervisory act must be feasible" so as to prevent the act from becoming a "Failure to Sign Cross-Strait Agreements Act" that would affect cross-strait relations.
The MAC and College of Law at National Kaohsiung University (NKU) jointly held a "Focus Forum on Legalization of the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act" this afternoon. The forum enabled direct communication with teachers and students in the Kaohsiung area on the public’s much concerned issue of legalization of supervision over cross-strait agreements. Minister Wang also made the above statement at the forum.
Minister Wang said that he understood the complex feelings many students hold towards mainland China, and that in the aftermath of the Sunflower Student Movement, the government will seriously face and respond to the demands of the public for transparency and legalization of cross-strait agreements so as to increase participation from all sectors of the public. The government also hopes to find a feasible and pragmatic approach that realizes actual functions of the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act, while also enables continued progress for cross-strait exchanges.
Minister Wang specifically mentioned the case where a Mainland student at NKU organized a "Second-Hand Daily Necessities Bank" activity, which encouraged departing Mainland students at the school to donate personal belongings they were not bringing home, therefore helping Mainland students to put concepts such as environmental protection and sustainable use of resources into actual practice. Such developments have positive benefits for young people on the two sides and encourage mutual improvement. So long as both sides continue to engage in open-minded exchanges, Taiwan's values and culture may impact the Mainland, misunderstanding across the Strait may be reduced, and peace and stability may be preserved.
Most scholars at the forum agreed that inclusion of the two states theory into the supervisory act would cause disputes, and also believed that mixing the roles of executive and legislative powers would create an unclear division of responsibilities. Regarding the scholars' proposal that the government should rebuild public trust, enhance the substantive significance of citizen participation, and whether the Legislative Yuan has a sufficient time limit for review, Minister Wang said that the government would humbly conduct reflection upon these matters and work to build a consensus to make the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act more comprehensive, pragmatic and feasible.
Today was the last of a series of forums. A total of 26 legal, political and administrative scholars from all parts of Taiwan joined the forums for in-depth discussions on issues related to the legalization of supervision for cross-strait agreements. Teachers, students and the public also participated in frank exchanges of views at the forums. In the future, the MAC will also continue to carry out related activities to give the public opportunities to reflect their views and provide an important reference for government policymaking.