The Executive Yuan today began screening a draft bill for closer monitoring of agreements signed between Taiwan and mainland China, Executive Yuan Spokesperson Sun Lih-chyuan said.
The meeting focused on how the Executive Yuan can provide the Legislative Yuan with a better understanding of the pacts during each stage of the negotiation process, as well as how to incorporate suggestions by lawmakers into the agreements. On the whole, participants of the meeting agreed with the general direction of these discussions, Sun said.
In response to calls for greater transparency and closer scrutiny of negotiations with mainland China, the bill will integrate the four-stage communication and national security screening systems already set up by Executive Yuan agencies, the spokesman said. Working under the framework of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, the new law would serve as the legal foundation for overseeing cross-strait negotiations. The proposed mechanism fulfills the Constitutional principles of separation of powers and the parity of authority and responsibility, and seeks to balance the public's right to know with the government's ability to conduct negotiations.
The Executive Yuan will call another meeting on Wednesday for the Mainland Affairs Council and various legal departments to discuss the specific wording of the bill. That outcome is expected to be submitted to the Cabinet for review on Thursday, April 3.
Today's meeting was led by Executive Yuan Minister without Portfolio John Deng and attended by officials from the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ministry of Science and Technology, Environmental Protection Administration, Financial Supervisory Commission, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Council of Agriculture, Ministry of Labor and National Security Council.