A majority of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday signed a motion to hold a no-confidence vote against Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) in a move designed to pre-empt an opposition call to topple the Cabinet.
"What has been going on in the legislature is like a really bad play. It's time to pull down the stage, and for all of us to take a bow," DPP Legislator Chen Chin-de (陳金德), who initiated the move, told a press conference yesterday.
The Constitution stipulates that the president may, within 10 days after legislative approval of a no-confidence vote against the premier, dissolve the legislature.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
"The motion is not about boycotting Chang," Cheng said. "As stipulated in the Constitution, toppling the Cabinet would pave the way for a new legislature," Chen said.
At the DPP caucus meeting, 45 of a total of 83 DPP lawmakers signed the proposal, leaving it 26 signatures short of the one-third threshold required to send the motion to the legislature.
Chen urged the People First Party (PFP), which controls 21 seats in the 216-member legislature, to "walk the walk and talk the talk."
The PFP had said after Chang was appointed as premier on May 15 that the party would work with their Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) allies to oust him. However, the pan-blue camp hasn't taken any action since then.
PFP Spokesman Lee Hung-chun (
DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
Chen said he had made the proposal to root out legislators who had paralyzed the government, enacted legislation in violation of the Constitution and impaired the legislature's dignity.
In related news, Chang yesterday defended his decision to halt construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project in 2000 during his first premiership.
Chang made the remarks as he briefed the Legislative Yuan on his administrative agenda.
Pan-blue lawmakers held up signs blasting Chang for his decision to suspend the project.
Under tremendous pressure here and abroad because of existing contracts to build the plant, construction was later restarted.
"Building a non-nuclear homeland was a campaign promise made by President Chen Shui-bian [陳水扁]," Chang told the legislature. "As Chen was elected, of course, he had to fulfill his promise."
"Legislative approval is not required to halt the execution of an approved budget," Chang said.
Chang yesterday also called on the legislature to pass this year's central government budget.
The budget, which should have been passed last November as stipulated in the Budget Law (
The opposition parties have demanded that amendments to the Organic Law of the Central Election Commission (
The pan-blue proposal calls for selecting commission members in proportion to the parties' number of seats in the legislature, which would give the pan-blues control of the commission. Members are currently nominated by the premier and appointed by the president.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS