The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday accused President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of acting like an “empress” and unconstitutionally expanding her powers by holding a weekly High-Level Policy Coordination Meeting, which it said is detrimental to democratic and constitutional development.
“Back in 2009, Tsai, who was the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson at the time, criticized then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for doubling as KMT chairman, accusing him of entangling party and state, and attempting to return to authoritarianism,” KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) told a news conference in Taipei.
Tsai also raised concerns that, given the KMT’s large majority in the legislature, Ma’s control over both the executive and legislative branches could undermine the Constitution’s checks and balances, Hu said.
Calling Tsai the “mother of an emperor,” Hu said DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) has said that Tsai doubling as DPP chairperson is to aid the president in delivering on her campaign promises to promote coordination between the government and the party, and allow more room for the executive branch of government.
“Since Premier Lin Chuan’s (林全) role in the Executive Yuan no longer exists and he has no real power, he should know his place and step down,” Hu said, referring to Tsai’s decision to hold the weekly meeting.
Hu also urged Tsai to reflect on her actions, saying that her insistence on acting like Tang Dynasty empress Wu Zetian (武則天) would have an adverse effect on democratic and constitutional development.
The KMT criticism came a day after Tsai convened the first High-Level Policy Coordination Meeting on Monday, bringing together officials from the Executive Yuan and the DPP to deliberate on major government policies and social issues.
During the two-hour meeting, Tsai instructed the Executive Yuan and the DPP legislative caucus to pass a bill to introduce a five-day workweek with two mandatory days off by the end of the year, while reiterating her administration’s determination to carry out pension reform.
In response to the KMT’s criticism, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said the government is a team and who is captain of that team is not an issue.
“The weekly meeting is meant to serve as a coordination mechanism … to allow the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan, the legislature and local government heads to meet regularly to determine the direction and timetable of major issues and decide the division of labor,” Huang said.
The meetings are expected to make the administration’s policymaking process more efficient and ensure the smooth promotion of major policies and reforms, Huang 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