TNAG-2498-FCO40-3636-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-Taiwan-1992 — Page 123

RAD REPORT

SUMMARY

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HKC 020/5

TAIWAN

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Balo Bunker 21/0 Dr Marki 916 A

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MAY 1992

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National Assembly passes some constitutional amendments but postpones more controversial issues. (Para 1)

Revision of the Criminal Code relating to subversion goes into effect, and a number of dissidents freed. (Para 2)

New ground broken in senior visits from Taiwan to the mainland. (Para 4)

Proposal for non-aggression pact rejected by the mainland. (Para 5)

Taiwan restates well known claims to territorial sea and islands in the South China Sea. (Para 6)

More Ministerial visits to Taiwan. (Para 8)

Domestic

In

1. The session of Taiwan's newly elected National Assembly, which had been called to discuss and adopt constitutional changes to further the cause of political reform, closed on 30 May. his address to the closing session, President Lee Lee Teng-hui said had laid the ground work for further democracy. The most controversial proposal, that for the direct election of the President, was not discussed. The 74 members of the Opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had walked out in protest on 4 May after their proposal to abolish the National Assembly's function as a electoral college and to allow direct elections had been ignored. Their main objection is that they want a full scale new constitution instead of the minor amendments favoured by the Kuomintang. This means that they took no part in the

constitutional reforms that were passed, although their absence did not prevent a quorum being attained at the National Assembly as they had won less than the necessary 25 per cent of the seats at the election in December which would have put them in a position to do so. The Assembly did pass a number of constitutional amendments on 27 May. These included:

a)

b)

the establishment of a constitutional court to regulate and disband political parties which violated the Constitution or endangered the survival of the nation (this court would deal with the outstanding case of the DDP's inclusion in its platform of a call for the independence of Taiwan); that the term of office for the President would be reduced from 4 to 6 years and that the Assembly itself would meet before 1995 to decide on the method for electing the President in 1996;

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