In its final sitting for the current term, the Legislative Yuan's pan-blue-camp-dominated Procedure Committee accepted a report from an investigative body declared by the Council of Grand Justices to have unconstitutional powers.
The Procedure Committee also refused to refer both a statute and budget for the NT$610.8 billion (US$19.2 billion) arms package and a Presidential Office request to review Control Yuan nominations to legislative committees for review.
The statute and budget plan therefore cannot be debated by the current legislature, which dissolves on Friday. The statute and budget plan must now be resubmitted by the next Cabinet to the new legislature.
The failure to review Control Yuan nominations will also result in a dormant Control Yuan from Feb. 1 as current members complete their terms on Jan. 31.
Control Yuan duties such as censuring government agencies and officials will therefore be interrupted until the Presidential Office resubmits nominations to the new legislature for approval.
The report issued by the March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee on Monday passed the Procedure Committee yesterday despite the former being declared unconstitutional.
The report, which says the shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (
Pan-green lawmakers said the investigation committee had been declared unconstitutional by the Council of Grand Justices, but pan-blue legislators said the justices did not say this, requiring only that the legislature amend the law which formed the committee.
People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) backed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in passing the report for consideration by the legislature, saying "the PFP respects the KMT's decision on the investigation committee's report."
The PFP then voted with the KMT throughout the session.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus expressed pessimism over cross-party cooperation after the day's events.
DPP caucus whip Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said that pan-blue lawmakers were still wallowing in their presidential election defeat, and this was why Cabinet, DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union bills had been rejected by the Procedure Committee.
"No matter how many friendly gestures the DPP offers other parties, I just don't see any partnerships forming. The DPP is having its sincerity thrown back in its face," he said.
When asked in turn if DPP-PFP cooperation was still viable, another DPP caucus whip, Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅), also expressed pessimism.
KMT caucus whip Tseng Yuan-chuang (
"The nominations for the Control Yuan also did not meet public expectations, so it is difficult for the current legislature to review the nominations. Both the arms deal and the nominations should be left to the next legislature for consideration," Tseng said.
Also see stories:
CIB laughs off report by committee
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
WAR’S END ANNIVERSARY: ‘Taiwan does not believe in commemorating peace by holding guns,’ the president said on social media after attending a morning ceremony Countries should uphold peace, and promote freedom and democracy, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as Taiwan marked 80 years since the end of World War II and the Second Sino-Japanese War. Lai, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and other top officials in the morning attended a ceremony at the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) to honor those who sacrificed their lives in major battles. “Taiwanese are peace-loving. Taiwan does not believe in commemorating peace by holding guns,” Lai wrote on Facebook afterward, apparently to highlight the contrast with the military parade in Beijing marking the same anniversary. “We
RSS