OPPOSITION leader Mathew Wale has condemned the Prime Minister’s decision to allow the government to hastily decide switching ties from Taiwan to China.
Government Caucus and Cabinet decided on Monday night to make the switch.
“The hasty manner in which the Government made the decision is both undemocratic and highly questionable,” Wale said.
“Taiwan has stood by us for the last 36 years and so it is surprising that the government would just suddenly decide to sever ties without giving it the required level of consultation,” he added.
“The manner in which the decision was made clearly shows the Prime Minister’s real intention to by-pass the role of the legislature, played by the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee.”
He pointed out that his committee’s role is pivotal in double-checking government activities as it enables churches, communities, NGOs and other public bodies with vested interest in any government business to directly participate in the decision making process, and to ignore it certainly raises a lot of questions.
“The choice between staying with democracy or switching to communism involves matters directly linked to our people and so the public’s view should never be ignored,” Wale said.
He added that in light of the decision, it is now also clear that the Prime Minister intentionally lied to the public when he said earlier that there will be no stones left unturned on the issue and that the issue will be dealt with through normal government process.
Wale questioned the Prime Minister if there was any agreement signed with Beijing before the switch and if so, he should come out with it and revealed it to the public
“If there was none, then he should come out clean and tell the truth about it, and stop lying to the people of this country,” the Opposition Leader further added.
– Opposition Press
