Leaders of opposition legislative caucuses agreed yesterday to a special legislative session being held to review financial bills seen as key to the nation's financial reform.
The legislation, which has been proposed by the Cabinet, failed to pass before the closure of the legislative session last Wednesday.
But lawmakers representing the KMT, People First Party and New Party said yesterday that the session could only be held -- for constitutional reasons -- after President Chen Shui-bian (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"The bills to be considered in the provisional session have to be urgent and important ones," said Cheng Yung-chin (
Chen said yesterday he respects the decision of the legislature and would do his part to make the special session possible.
The dates of the provisional session are expected to be decided in negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties.
The bills targeted by the Cabinet include the enactment of the Financial Holding Company Law, the Statute for the Establishment and Management of the Financial Reconstruction Fund, the Securities and Finance Management Law and amendments to the Business Tax Law, the Insurance Law and laws regarding deposit insurance.
During a visit to Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) on Thursday, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) expressed his wish that lawmakers could pass the bills early by holding a special session, rather than waiting until the next session which is set to open on Sept. 18.
According to the Constitution, in addition to being held at the request of the president, a provisional session can also be held if initiated by lawmakers with the endorsement of at least a quarter of the legislative body.
Also on Thursday, Chen promised he would issue an official statement asking for a provisional legislature session, if the legislature considered this a more proper method to handle the matter.
Wang, who has always believed the session should be held at the request of the president, reiterated yesterday that the legislature must take a cautious attitude on the issue.
"Unless there are major national affairs to consider, the legislature will lack the legitimacy to hold a provisional session," Wang said.
Opposition lawmakers, meanwhile, said Chang should explain to the public the importance and urgency of the bills before the special session is held.
In addition, the Cabinet should put forth a complete list of its urgent bills that are to be considered in the upcoming provisional session, if there are other ones in addition to the six aforementioned bills, the lawmakers said.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS