The election of legislators with criminal or gangster backgrounds, or massive conflicts of interest as chairmen of the legislature's 12 standing committees has become a ritual of every legislative session; yesterdays elections for committee chairmen were no exception.
Independent lawmaker Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), who forfeited his convener's seat on the Economics and Energy Committee in the last session to calm an outcry over his business ties, managed to obtain the berth again.
Yen, convicted last year by a trial court of corruption, attempted murder and obstruction of justice, owns several quarrying companies in the region.
The Ministry of Economics Affairs is the highest regulatory agency on the nation's rivers and riverbeds where quarrying operations are carried out.
Last October, DPP lawmaker Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) told a news conference that some of her colleagues, whose identities she refused to reveal, were behind illegal quarrying operations in central Taiwan.
Meanwhile DPP lawmaker Lin Wen-lang (林文郎) and PFP colleague Chen Chih-bin (陳志彬) were both elected as the conveners of the Finance Committee despite their deep involvement in the securities industry.
The committee, normally the most popular, is responsible for supervising the Ministry of Finance. Allegations abound that over the years Committee members have sought to pressure the ministry to adopt measures favorable to their portfolios as well as that of their family and friends.
After election, Lin and Chen said they would soon sever their business ties but offered no guarantee as how they would make good on their pledge.
There are three conveners for each of the standing committees. As they wield substantial influence over legislation by controlling the agenda of committee meetings, their opinions carry great weight with policy planners, whose agency falls under the oversight of the corresponding committee.
One of the most notorious beneficiaries of the committee chairmanship system in recent years has been former independent lawmaker Lo Fu-chu (羅福助), a convicted gangster who owns Tashin Securities, and is widely believed to have used his position on the committee to engage in many financial irregularities.
In line with cross-party agreements, the DPP won 13 convener seats; the KMT 10 seats; the PFP 8 seats; and the Non-Partisan Alliance two seats.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
RSS