After hours of negotiations, lawmakers across party lines yesterday finally agreed to set the ratification threshold for constitutional amendments and territorial changes at 75 percent.
The accord should guarantee the passage of the statute on the National Assembly's exercise of power (
Meanwhile, the legislature's Home and Nations Committee yesterday passed the preliminary review of the draft amendments to the Offshore Islands Development Law (
Some of the controversial articles in the draft amendments, however, were put aside for further cross-party negotiation and possible public hearings before the bill proceeds to the plenary legislative session for its second and third reading.
Yesterday's multiparty negotiations, presided over by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The threshold for approving territorial changes will require the presence of two-thirds of the Assembly's members, and the consent of three-fourths of those members. A simple majority of the Assembly members is required for the impeachment of the president and vice president.
INDIGNANT
Regarding the establishment of casinos on outlying islands, independent Legislator Lin Pin-kun (
"I am telling you, if the DPP keeps boycotting this bill like you are now, you will lose every single vote in the [Penghu] constituency," Lin said.
Undaunted by Lin's threat, Chiu said that many bills concerning people's livelihood proposed by his caucus have also been rejected by the pan-blue alliance. They include the statute governing the 2008 Taiwan Expo, the special arms procurement plan and budget, and the five-year, NT$500 billion Ten Major Construction Projects package.
ECONOMIC FIX?
The DPP caucus argues that legalizing casinos on outlying islands is not the answer to those communities' economic woes. It contends that the legalization of gambling will adversely affect business in other trades, hurt natural resources and make gambling a permanent fixture of life on outlying islands.
Chang Ching-sen (
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
He told Penghu residents and officials appealing to him on Tuesday that if the government issues only two licenses to establish casinos in special tourism districts on outlying islands, his understanding was that they might go to Penghu and Kinmen.
The bill managed to pass committee review during the last legislature, but failed to pass the third reading on the final day of the last session.
According to legislative procedures, bills failing to clear the legislature during a previous session have to start from scratch during the next legislative session.
More than 13 opinion polls have been conducted on the issue between 1995 and last year.
Nine polls have shown a majority of people support the legalization of casinos on outlying islands, while four polls show a majority of people are against it.
The last poll was held in Penghu in December. In that poll about 57 percent of the archipelago's residents supported the legalization of casinos, while about 43 percent voted against it.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS