The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday locked horns with the People First Party (PFP) yesterday over the long-stalled arms procurement plan, with the DPP calling the PFP a "gangster ring" and the PFP painting the DPP as an "evil empire."
The two camps' name-calling came after the pan-blue-dominated Procedure Committee blocked the US-arms procurement bill for the 31st time.
The confirmation of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) nominees for the Control Yuan and the party asset bill also failed to pass the committee.
The committee voted in favor of tabling the stymied arms procurement bill along with 17 other bills proposed by the DPP and its small ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).
Frustrated by the pan-blue camp's ongoing obstructionism, DPP caucus whip William Lai (
That bill is designed to compel the KMT to return its stolen party assets to the public and state coffers.
The PFP has threatened to push the party asset bill through for legislative review if the KMT breaks ranks with it on the arms bill, which the PFP adamantly opposes.
"The PFP's audacity makes people sick to their stomach and boil with anger," Lai said. "Although political parties and lawmakers should make public and national interests their first priority, the PFP is using the KMT's good intentions as a bargaining advantage to kidnap and extort its long-term political ally."
Lai called on KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (
While the Procedural Committee's job is to set the legislative agenda, Hsu said that it is the responsibility of the legislative committees and plenary sessions to discuss the details of bills.
Dismissing the DPP's allegation as "unacceptable," PFP Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) responded by calling the DPP an "evil empire."
In addition to reiterating his caucus' opposition to what he called the "irrational" arms procurement plan, Chang called on Ma to offer a clear-cut explanation of whether the KMT will support the arms bill after the year-end elections, as has been speculated.
He also challenged the DPP to a public debate over the arms procurement package.
Chang said that his caucus has drawn up a different version to counter the DPP's proposal, but he remained tight-lipped about details, saying that he does not want to mislead the public into believing that his caucus supports the arms procurement plan.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique