The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee yesterday passed a motion to lift a self-imposed term limit on legislator-at-large seats for legislative speakers, opening the door for Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng’s (王金平) potential re-election for a fourth term.
The proposal, jointly submitted by five committee members, was passed with the signatures of 29 of the 39 members, without being put to a vote at a routine meeting of the committee in Taipei.
The motion recommends an amendment be made to Article 2 of the KMT’s regulations on nominations for legislators-at-large and overseas legislators, which stipulates that KMT legislators-at-large are generally allowed to serve one term, but those with special contributions to the party are eligible for re-election.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The last paragraph of the article — dubbed the “legislative speaker clause” — states that KMT members who meet the above criteria and also serve as legislative speakers are entitled to a third term as a legislator-at-large.
The “legislative speaker clause” was added to the regulations in October 2011, before the end of Wang’s second term as legislator-at-large, for the apparent sole purpose of allowing him to retain his role for a third consecutive term.
Wang first assumed the speakership in 1999.
Under the new amendment, KMT legislative speakers who fulfil requirements would be exempted from the three-term limit.
“The legislative speakership is held by a legislators-at-large whose power and influence are accorded by their party. As such, their neutrality and authority might be compromised and questioned if their party can strip them of their position at will … or block their re-election bid by imposing a term limit,” the motion stated.
“In an effort to let the party’s legislative speaker fulfil duties without distractions, we propose that the committee make an amendment to the nomination regulations for legislators-at-large,” it added.
KMT spokesperson Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said the committee did not discuss any specific KMT member or the party’s potential legislator-at-large candidates for the Jan. 16 elections at the meeting.
Prior to the meeting, KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) said ensuring neutrality in the speakership was one of the three legislative reforms he plans to push for, if he wins the presidential race.
“The other two planned reforms include improving the efficiency of the legislature and improving transparency in legislative negotiations,” Chu said.
None of the three reforms would be affected because of a single individual, Chu said.
“My objective is to establish a long-term system. Any KMT members who disapprove of, or refuse to accept, these pending changes will not be nominated by the party as its candidates,” he added.
Wang said on the sidelines of an event in Taipei that the passage of the motion indicated support from leaders of both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party for a neutral legislative speaker and a reformed legislature.
“The public also looks forward to seeing these plans become a reality,” Wang said.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a political foundation based on the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today said during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Both sides of the Strait should plan and build institutionalized and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation based on that foundation to make peaceful development across the Strait irreversible, she said. Peace is a shared moral value across the Strait, and both sides should move beyond political confrontation to seek institutionalized solutions to prevent war, she said. Mutually beneficial cross-strait relations are what the
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
RSS