The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday reiterated the urgency of passing a presidential transition act, following its meeting with representatives from the Presidential Office on Friday last week.
Jason Liu (劉建忻), DPP deputy secretary-general and government transition task force co-convenor, made the remarks at a news conference clarifying the five-point policy statement the DPP made after the meeting, saying that the legislation could not be obviated by the Executive Yuan’s “essential requirements” guideline for governmental transition.
Later in the evening, the Presidential Office declared a halt to the implementation of the “essential requirements.”
The first demand of the task force is to require the government to negotiate specific guidelines to execute administrative transition until the Legislative Yuan ratifies presidential transition of powers legislation.
Second, the process for the transition of government should be institutionalized by law and the presidential transition bill represents a legal “necessity” to safeguard the continuity of government and guarantee the outgoing administration’s deference to the will of the people and the agenda of the incoming administration, Liu said.
This is to be accomplished by requiring government agencies and departments to pass relevant information to the president-elect in the interim period, he added.
Third, the DPP said it has begun to assign liaison personnel to government contacts to facilitate information requests and invitations to officials for policy discussions made by president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), especially with regard to administrative jurisdictions, organizations, and personnel and budgetary situations.
The DPP’s transition task force has initiated preparations for managing the nation’s needs during the peak electricity consumption period in the summer and the high flood-risk period between May and November through the system of liaison and contacts, Liu said.
Fourth, it demands the government refrain from making policy decisions that would carry over to the next fiscal year and to suspend ongoing policy items that are inessential to government operations, have no particular urgency or are controversial. Joint negotiations should precede the execution of urgent or essential policy measures.
Fifth, the DPP states that it does not consider the proposed essential requirements an urgent priority at the present, because it is a set of internal regulations for the Executive Yuan and most of its stipulations are concerned with the the future handover of duties by departmental and agency directors.
In response, Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) issued a statement saying that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has “agreed to the necessity” of passing a presidential transition bill and that the office had replied in writing to the DPP.
In a separate interview with the Chinese-language Apple Daily, Chen said that Ma agreed to expedite the sharing of non-classified information with Tsai and her office, but state secrets protected by the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) and the Archives Act (檔案法) would not be disclosed until either the passage of the proposed presidential transition act or the formal appointment of officials with the appropriate clearance.
“The president’s agreement about legislating the presidential transition process is conditional on its constitutionality and he will respect the Legislative Yuan’s decision as to whether to pass the proposed transition act before Tsai’s inauguration on May 20,” Chen said.
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