The Legislative Yuan erupted into chaos yesterday, with legislators headbutting and choking each other before a vote was finally held to pass a resolution supporting the nation's World Health Organization observership bid.
Independent legislator Chu Hsing-yu (
Later, the feisty lawmaker took two breathalyzer tests to prove his sobriety after his sparring partner claimed he'd been drinking.
The legislative caucases originally had an understanding to pass the motion before the World Health Assembly started this year, but because of Chu's grudge against the DPP, a result of its opposition to Chu's bill to cancel bonuses for tax investigators, Chu boycotted the motion from the DPP caucus yesterday.
Cable TV stations showed Chu -- who has a reputation for unruly behavior -- approach Lai and begin bumping his shoulder against Lai's as colleagues tried to separate them.
The stocky Chu grabbed Lai by his jacket collar, tying to wrestle him down on a desk. Chu then tried to headbutt Lai and eventually jabbed him in the stomach, before lawmakers pulled them apart.
Lai said he wasn't hurt, and that he'd "smelled alcohol very clearly when he [Chu] was close."
"Legislators should take an alcohol test before meetings," he joked. "Otherwise this will influence the country no less than drunk driving affects traffic."
Chu denied he'd drunk any alcohol. He called a traffic policeman into the legislature and took two breathalyzer tests in front of the TV cameras.
"Both times it was zero," Chu said as he showed off the slips of paper with the test results.
After the fight, the motion underwent an anonymous vote, and the majority of legislators agreed to pass the motion. But Chu again demanded further negotiations.
The sitting was forced to break, and several DPP legislators tried to placate Chu.
The motion then went through another vote after the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) demanded an open vote, and it finally passed with only one vote against it. Chu voted in favor of the motion.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS