Protesters outside the Legislative Yuan, or Taiwan's parliament

Taipei, March 28 (CNA) In a concession to the student-led protesters who oppose a service trade pact with China, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said Friday the administration is "open" to the proposal of drafting new legislation to increase the scrutiny of cross-Taiwan Strait agreements.

He made the comments a day after the student-led occupation movement called on the public to attend an open-ended rally in front of the Presidential Office on Sunday afternoon.

The protesters, who have occupied the Legislative Yuan since March 18, have demanded new legislation that would subject any agreements with China to close monitoring by lawmakers and industry groups.

They also demanded that the lawmakers not take any action on the service trade pact with China until the new law is enacted.

In a press conference Friday morning, Jiang called attention to the ruling Kuomintang's position made clear Thursday that it is prepared for the agreement to be returned to the committees of the Legislative Yuan for a "substantive" article-by-article review.

On the upcoming rally, Jiang also echoed the Presidential Office's call for the public's views to be expressed in a peaceful and rational way in order to avoid conflicts.

(By Jay Chen)
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Related stories:
●March 28: Jiang rejects two demands by student-led protesters
●March 27: Occupation movement plans rally in front of Presidential Office
●March 26: Dialogue with students can be aired in public: president
●March 23: Protesters raise new demands in standoff over trade pact
●March 23: President addresses protesters' demand for law on cross-strait pacts

(Click here for the latest on the ongoing protest and developments since the Legislature occupation starting March 18.)