DPP lawmakers seek to codify 'two-state' framing in cross-strait law

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) About 25 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers are proposing amendments to Taiwan's governing law on cross-strait relations to codify a "two-state" reality, drawing immediate pushback from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT).

"I aim to legally define the relationship between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC) as an equal, state-to-state relationship," DPP lawmaker Lin I-chin (林宜瑾), who initiated the proposal, said in a Facebook post Saturday.

Lin said she has obtained the required number of co-signatures for the proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area and will formally submit the bill to the Legislature.

The proposal seeks to rename the law as one governing "relations between Taiwan and the PRC" and to refer to both sides of the Taiwan Strait as "territory," replacing the current term "area."

It also proposes deleting the phrase "prior to unification" from the law's first article, language that implies the legislation is a temporary arrangement pending eventual unification.

The legal framework dates back to the late 1980s, when the then KMT government moved to allow family visits to China, easing decades of hostility following the Chinese Civil War that forced the party to relocate to Taiwan in 1949.

The bill was passed by the Legislature in 1992 and aligned with the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan's formal name), adopted earlier that year by the now-disbanded National Assembly, to allow the Constitution to function effectively in Taiwan "prior to unification."

Under this constitutional framework, Taiwan and the PRC-governed mainland are defined as the "Free Area" and the "Mainland Area," respectively.

Commenting on the proposal, KMT lawmaker Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) dismissed it as an "old trick" aimed at pursuing "de facto independence" by President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) supporters, referring to Lin as a longtime ally of the president.

Lee warned that such moves could lead to unnecessary "misinterpretations" by Taiwan's international partners, create "trouble" for the president, and further distance the DPP from mainstream public opinion, according to the United Daily News.

The proposal would overturn the constitutional framework of "one China, divided into a Free Area and a Mainland Area," and would inevitably provoke a strong reaction from Beijing, the paper quoted KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) as saying.

Citing respect for the Legislature, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said it would refrain from commenting, noting that deliberation on bills is the prerogative of the legislative branch.

However, the MAC said cross-strait legislation is rooted in the Additional Articles of the Constitution and is "highly politically sensitive," adding that any amendments must be supported by broad social consensus.