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.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a