Proposal aims to clarify government jurisdiction

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 28, 2006. It reports that the government in Taiwan is planning to propose an amendment to various laws that, if passed by the Legislature, will grant the Council of Mainland Affairs the authority to government people and legal entities from Taiwan who wish to work in China.

According to Article 33 of the Statue Governing the Relations between the Peoples on the Two Sides of the Taiwan Strait, any individuals, legal entities, persons, organizations or other institutions in Taiwan shall not hold any position or become any member of the agencies, institutions or organizations in China that are political parties, the military, the administration or of any political nature, and which are prohibited with public offices by the Council of Mainland Affairs.

However, an amendment to the statue is now necessary, because neither the law nor its enforcement rules have specifically defined whether the central or local government may issue such permissions. Currently, according to the Constitution, any matter that is national in nature shall fall within the jurisdiction of the central government. If the matter concerns the province, then it shall fall within the jurisdiction of the province; if it concerns the county, then it shall fall within the jurisdiction of the county. In case of dispute, the matter shall be settled by the Legislative Yuan.

Most of the members of the Council of Mainland Affairs have agreed that applications of such permissions should be processed and approved by the central government, in view of the nature and complexity of cross-strait relations.