Premier urges tougher legal oversight as KMT's Cheng visits China

Taipei, April 7 (CNA) Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Tuesday called for stronger legal scrutiny of Taiwanese political leaders' exchanges with Beijing, amid an ongoing trip to China by opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairperson Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文).

Speaking during a legislative session, Cho said Taiwan's political leaders should not surrender to China through nonresistance or inaction, adding that existing laws governing exchanges between Taiwanese political leaders and China should be strengthened to safeguard national security.

The Cabinet has proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area that would legally require lawmakers to disclose information and contacts with Chinese political and military figures.

Ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), meanwhile, called for the act to cover the cross-strait activities of all political party leaders in Taiwan, regardless of whether they currently hold elected office.

Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) head Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正), addressing the same session, said that while he supported Shen's thinking, any changes to the law required careful consideration as Taiwan has many political parties with different influences.

On Cheng's trip, Chiu said the KMT chair should ask Beijing to stop sending military aircraft and warships around Taiwan, and instead squarely face the Republic of China's (Taiwan's official name) existence, democratic values and way of life.

He added that Cheng should take seriously that China's ambition to annex Taiwan remains unchanged, and not become a tool of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) "united front" efforts to divide Taiwan by acting in accordance with the CCP's political script.

Following an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), a KMT delegation led by Cheng departed for China on Tuesday for a trip scheduled to run through April 12.