The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vowed to appeal to the Council of Grand Justices for a constitutional interpretation after the legislature yesterday rejected the Executive Yuan's request to reconsider a controversial statute authorizing the formation of a committee probing the March 19 shootings.
"We will apply to the Judicial Yuan for a constitutional interpretation on the statute tomorrow," DPP caucus whip Lee Chun-yee (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The vote ensures the imminent promulgation of the statute, which mandates the formation of the investigative committee.
According to the Constitution, the president has to promulgate a law within 10 days after the Legislative Yuan delivers the bill to the Presidential Office.
The Executive Yuan had asked the legislature to reconsider the March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee Statute (三一九槍擊事件真相調查特別委員會條例) because of concern that it might violate the Constitution and encroach on the judicial system.
The legislature handled the reconsideration request on the first day of its last session yesterday.
A total of 114 lawmakers voted in favor of the statute.
To override a Cabinet veto, at least 109 lawmakers -- a simple majority of the 217 seats in the 225-seat legislature that are presently filled -- have to vote in favor of the statute. Although the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) caucuses together have 112 members, the two caucuses only managed to secure 108 votes yesterday, and would not have managed to reject the request were it not for support from the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU).
The NPSU contributed five votes, and independent Legislator Su Yin-kuei (蘇盈貴) also voted against the reconsideration request.
The failure to invalidate the bill came as an expected but still heavy blow to the DPP, and both the DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucuses said that they would not give up their fight against the statute. They said they would apply to the Council of Grand Justices for an interpretation on the statute.
"If the pan-green camp wins a majority of seats in the legislative elections, the TSU caucus will propose that the statute be amended," TSU caucus whip Huang Chung-yung (黃宗源) said.
The DPP and the TSU caucuses both criticized the pan-blue camp for rejecting the reconsideration request and asked the public to use their votes in the legislative elections to denounce the pan-blue politicians who voted against the request. They also said they would not nominate any members for the committee.
However, the DPP's application for a constitutional interpretation will not prevent the statute being signed into law, as it is unlikely that the Council of Grand Justices will reach a decision before the president is required to promulgate the statute.
The committee would consist of members drawn from outside the legislature, the Control Yuan or other government agencies and state-run businesses.
The DPP can appoint six members from outside these circles, the KMT five, the PFP four, the TSU one and the NPSU one.
The statute stipulates that the committee has the right to investigate all criminal matters relating to the March 19 shooting, and that it will enjoy powers similar to those of prosecutors when conducting investigations.
The pan-blue camp, meanwhile, worked hard to ensure its triumph. With KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
The KMT even succeeded in facilitating the return of two long-absent lawmakers, Her Jyh-huei (
But three KMT lawmakers remained absent from yesterday's session: Chen Hung-chang (
On the PFP's side, only former basketball player Cheng Chih-lung (
The Executive Yuan yesterday expressed regret at the result and vowed to request a freeze of the legislation until the Council of Grand Justices rules on the statute.
"This piece of legislation re-presents a step backward in the nation's democratic development and symbolizes a shameless stain in the nation's democratic history," Premier Yu Shyi-kun told a press conference last night.
Minister without Portfolio Hsu Chih-hsiung (
"This is the worst piece of legislation I've ever seen since martial law was lifted," he said. "In a bid to safeguard human rights, the public interest and the constitutional system, the best solution is to ask the Council of Grand Justices to halt the implementation of the statute until they reach a decision on the law's constitutionality."
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
J-6 REMODEL: The converted drones are part of Beijing’s expanding mix of airpower weapons, including bombers with stand-off missiles and UAV swarms, the report said China has stationed obsolete supersonic fighters converted to attack drones at six air bases close to the Taiwan Strait, a report published this month by the Arlington, Virginia-based Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies said. Satellite imagery of the airfields from the institute’s “China Airpower Tracker” shows what appear to be lines of stubby, swept-winged aircraft matching the shape of J-6 fighters that first flew with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force in the 1960s. Since their conversion to drones, the aircraft have been identified at five bases in China’s Fujian Province and one in Guangdong Province, the report said. J.
RSS