The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday confirmed that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, had asked it to regulate the behavior of the party’s legislators-at-large.
Caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) told reporters that the caucus and the KMT’s Policy Research Committee would arrange meetings to communicate party regulations to legislators-at-large.
“Chairman Ma put Secretary-General Chan [Chun-po, 詹春柏] in charge of convening meetings with the legislators-at-large, where he will detail the party’s regulations so that we don’t have to remind them again,” Lu said.
Ma made the decision after presiding over the party’s Chungshan, or leadership, meeting on Tuesday.
KMT officials were scheduled to discuss a proposal by a number of youth wing delegates demanding KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) resign or be relieved of her job as a legislator-at-large for criticizing government policy.
The proposal was forwarded to the meeting after the KMT’s Party Congress failed to reach a consensus on the issue on Sunday.
Party officials told reporters after the Chungshan meeting that Ma also suggested that the caucus give Lo some “advice.”
Lu said the regulations were meant to regulate the behavior of legislators-at-large instead of targeting a specific individual.
Lo said yesterday that she had been a competent KMT lawmaker as she had followed the party’s resolutions and supported the party’s proposals during votes on the legislative floor.
Lo said she did not care whether she continued to serve as a KMT legislator-at-large.
“I only care about what I have done for the public during my term as a lawmaker,” she said, adding that she would continue to “do the right thing.”
KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), another legislator-at-large, said it was reasonable for the party to regulate the behavior of legislators-at-large.
Chiu said every lawmaker should refrain from making emotional remarks when appearing in public.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS