The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has unveiled a draft bill which would require legislative supervision for any agreement negotiated with China. The DPP, which has a majority in Taiwan’s legislature, announced the contents of the bill at a meeting on Friday.
If passed, the bill would require legislative supervision at three different points during the negotiation process for any agreement with China.
In the first stage, once the Cabinet decides to negotiate an issue with China, officials must present it to the legislature. The Mainland Affairs Council, which charts Taiwan’s China policy, and agencies responsible for the negotiations would explain their plans and answer questions. At this point in the process, the plans would also be subjected to a national security review.
Then, the same officials would be required to come back to the legislature and report on the results of the initial negotiations. The Cabinet would then introduce a draft bill, which the legislature would review and have the right to amend. The review must be completed within 90 days. If it is not completed during that time limit it does not mean the bill would automatically go into effect. Also, if it fails to pass a national security review, then the negotiations will cease immediately.
The final stage of supervision involves the Cabinet sending the agreement to the legislature to review clause by clause, and lawmakers will vote on it. Once officials from Taiwan and China sign the agreement, it will go into effect.
The DPP’s caucus whip, Ker Chien-min, said that the incoming DPP administration will not introduce an additional version of the draft bill. That’s because, he said, it involves the supervisory rights of the legislature, so lawmakers will take the lead. Ker said that the DPP legislative caucus would introduce the draft bill as soon as possible. He said that it would likely be late April at the earliest by the time it can be placed on the legislative agenda and face a review.