On the opening day of the National Assembly yesterday, three assembly members from the Democratic Action Alliance (DAA), led by Chang Ya-chung (張亞中), resigned from their posts in protest against what they said was the "ridiculous" procedure leading to the National Assembly's formation and the body having little legitimacy.
Chang, Wang Ching-feng (
The National Assembly will not be short three members, however, as Chang said the three vacant posts will be filled by Sui Tu-ching (隋杜卿), Hsieh Ying-hua (謝瀛華) and Kuo Hung Chin-fung (郭洪金鳳), who will continue protesting while at the same time "monitoring" the meeting for the public.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The National Assembly, elected on May 14, is convening for the sole purpose of approving or disapproving the package put forward by the Legislative Yuan.
It is expected to pass the package as the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) together have more than 80 percent of the 300 seats, and both support the amendments.
Chang claimed that only 19 percent of the public supports the amendment package, while more than three-quarters refuse to endorse it.
This, plus the record low turnout for the May 14 elections, is a clear indication that the National Assembly is lacking legitimacy, he stressed.
Delegates to the National Assembly reported for duty yesterday at the Chungshan Hall on Yanmingshan, suburban Taipei, for their first day of work, with all 296 delegates being sworn in at 11am.
The swearing-in ceremony was presided over by Senior Presidential Adviser Yeh Chu-lan (
Chanting "oppose voting for the package, rewrite the constitution, rectify the national title and save Taiwan," the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) 21 assembly delegates were the first to collectively register.
Despite the DPP's and KMT's request for a second round of voting if any of their assembly members fail to toe the party line, TSU assembly members and the assembly's acting secretary-general Chien Lin Hui-chien (
She, however, agreed that the assembly sitting should conclude as soon as possible.
The meeting must not exceed one month, and it is scheduled to last for two weeks.
The People First Party's (PFP) 18 delegates reiterated their resolve to veto constitutional amendments.
Yeh, a member of the steering committee, said that she will respect the final decision of the steering committee for the duration of the plenary session although she hopes it would last as short as possible -- preferably three days.
"If we can finish the job in five days, we don't want to take seven, and if we can do it in one week, we don't want it to take two," she said.
KMT Spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (
Chen Chin-jang (
In a bid to ensure its assembly members to cast affirmative ballots, Chen said that KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正) would come to personally supervise the balloting if necessary.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
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