Cashing in on their numerical superiority, the opposition parties last night forced through crucial legal revisions that the DPP government warned would hamper its smooth and effective functioning.
During a marathon session that started yesterday morning and will last until this morning, the opposition alliance -- despite protests from DPP legislators -- made law a proposal to allow Taiwanese people to enter China via offshore islands.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Outgoing KMT lawmaker Chao Erh-chung (
DPP legislative whip Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) sarcastically painted the reform as the last work of Chao, as he lost his seat representing the outlying island of Kinmen in the Dec. 1 elections.
Opposition lawmakers also succeeded in pushing through a disputed legal overhaul that will enable local governments to keep a greater share of tax revenues. Led by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
But top government statistician Lin Chuan (
Ma called a news conference at 10pm to thank the lawmaking body for adopting the legislation. Earlier in the day, chaotic wrangling virtually paralyzed the legislature, as lawmakers eager to push their pet bills up the agenda bickered over the order of business hammered out by caucus leaders.
Responding to a top mobilization order, over 130 lawmakers of all political stripes took part in the session. The high attendance rate did little to expedite the legislative process that was frequently disrupted by members whose bills risk being scrapped because they are not branded "priority."
The current session will fold before noon today, as the legislature has set aside the afternoon for outgoing legislators to deliver their farewell speeches.
As of 4:30pm, the body passed only two legal overhauls intended to halve capital gains tax on property for two years, as suggested by last year's Economic Development Advisory Conference to revive the domestic real-estate market.
The measure, lobbied for by leading industrialists, is expected to shrink local government coffers by NT$22 billion a year. The Cabinet has pledged to make up the shortfall.
Leaders from all caucuses spent the entire morning and early afternoon seeking to carve out an agenda for the remaining session.
They struck a deal to first review bills the Cabinet and all caucuses labeled as urgent, to be followed by a vote this morning on controversial items in the 2002 fiscal budget.
If time allows, the agreement said, the legislature may take up proposals to establish a financial supervisory board, look after soldiers who fought in 1958 cross-strait warfare and spare accountants already in practice the trouble of gaining certification.
The agreement drew vehement protests from members who strove to score points before their tenure expires at the end of this month.
"It makes no sense to put so-called uncontroversial bills on the backburner," said KMT legislator Chiang Yi-wen (
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan has signed six arms procurement offers from the US totaling more than NT$208 billion (US$6.59 billion) covering long-range precision strike systems, missile stockpile replenishment and joint production of large-caliber ammunition, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The government’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget has been stalled in the Legislative Yuan as opposition lawmakers question the amount and procurement items, while the Presidential Office and defense ministry say that the full amount is necessary to safeguard Taiwan. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) on Monday briefed the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on the defense budget for
RSS