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Wang vows monitoring law before pact

Monday, 07 April 2014 08:06 Taipei Times

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, center, greets protesters while visiting the Legislative Yuan with lawmakers from both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) promised yesterday to enact a law monitoring Taiwan’s pacts with China before the legislature reviews the controversial cross-strait service trade agreement.

The move was welcomed by the student activists, but they have yet to decide whether to withdraw from the legislative compound.

Wang made the announcement during a high-profile visit to the student protesters on the occupied legislative chamber, but prior to entering the room, he held a press conference saying that he has never shunned the responsibility for mediating the conflicts between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) over the pact’s handling.

Protesters give thumbs down to Cabinet proposal

Friday, 04 April 2014 08:26 Taipei Times

Students outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday hold up cardboard signs calling for the passage of oversight legislation prior to a review of the cross-strait service trade agreement, as police clear the way for legislators and staff vehicles to enter and leave the complex.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Student activists occupying the legislative chamber yesterday rejected the Cabinet’s proposal for legislation to monitor cross-strait agreements, calling it an empty, insincere proposal aimed at deceiving the public.

“The Cabinet proposal is rather superficial, especially when [the premier] rejects our demand to apply the law to the review of the cross-strait service trade agreement,” student leader Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan.