A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker said yesterday that 30 lawmakers had endorsed his proposal to invite President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to make a national report at the Legislative Yuan and to submit to a question-and-answer session.
DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said that his move was part of efforts to establish a “constitutional precedent” for a governance system with matching power and responsibilities.
Wu said that Ma had promised during his election campaign to visit the legislature in person to make a national report and to listen to the opinions of opposition parties and different social groups and incorporate their input into future policies.
Using the ongoing US beef issue as an example, Wu said Ma had completely changed his attitude on the issue after his re-election and should therefore explain the sudden change to legislators and the public.
“One of the principles of democratic politics is transparency,” Wu added. “Since the president will guide the policymaking, he should report policy changes and options to the legislature.”
DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said he had expressed the hope several times that Ma would take the initiative to report to the legislature.
Now that so many legislators have expressed the same view, Ma should “take the ball” and should not respond passively by “waiting for a legislative resolution,” he said, adding that Ma should also answer every question posed by legislators, which he said “would show Ma’s sincerity about leaving an historical legacy.”
People First Party legislative caucus convener Lee Tung-hao (李桐豪) said at a separate setting yesterday that his caucus supported the call for the president to deliver a “state of the nation” address in the legislature, adding it hoped a time could be arranged following the president’s address for the lawmakers to make comments.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池), head of the party’s Policy Committee, said the Legislative Yuan could invite the president to deliver a report and that the KMT would respect such a proposal.
However, if the president delivered such a report, it would set a precedent, so that the matter has to be dealt with “cautiously and seriously,” he added.
He also said that under the Constitution, the legislators did not have the right to question the president.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said there were dual channels for Ma to report to the legislature — one is through legislative resolution and the other is when the Presidential Office asks for the consent of the legislature.
“Everything must go according to procedure, but no one has yet made a request,” Wang said
Under the act governing the functioning of the Legislative Yuan, if a proposal, with the endorsement of more than one-quarter of the lawmakers, is approved by the legislature, then its Procedure Committee should set up a schedule for the president to make a national report on important policies.
In response to the DPP lawmakers’ move, Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said Ma would respect the legislature’s decision.
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
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
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
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