The Legislative Yuan yesterday started its first ever live-streaming of cross-caucus negotiations, with some hailing it as a breakthrough, while others expressed concern that it might end up becoming another stage for political show.
An amendment to the Organic Law of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法), which was passed on Nov. 25 and promulgated by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday last week, requires legislative meetings and negotiations to be broadcast live on television and the Internet.
Cross-caucus negotiations had previously been held behind closed doors without an open record, despite the Act Governing the Exercise of Legislative Power (立法院職權行使法) stipulating that negotiations should be recorded and published along with resolutions in the Legislative Yuan Gazette.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
In 2013, civic groups accused the legislature of running an “opaque” operation and demanded that the Control Yuan impeach then-Legislative Yuan secretary-general Lin Hsi-shan (林錫山) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The current legislature, which was inaugurated in February and is also the first in which the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) holds a majority, elected a DPP legislative speaker who has vowed to create a more transparent lawmaking body.
This year cross-caucus negotiations have been recorded and made available online after talks were completed, with all such meetings to be live-streamed starting from yesterday.
“All of the negotiations will be live-streamed, just as the floor meetings and committee meetings are,” Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said.
KMT caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) said he has a positive view of the change, as more transparency would “make [lawmakers] more discreet.”
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that he is also glad to see a more transparent legislature.
“The more transparent the cross-caucus negotiations the better; I do not feel any pressure [from the opening-up], which could make apparent [the difference] in strength” of each party, he said.
In yesterday’s negotiations, Ker was seen pressing the KMT caucus for its cooperation in passing the state-run enterprises’ budget proposal for this year.
The KMT caucus has been boycotting the proposal in protest of what it calls the DPP caucus’ “tyranny of the majority.”
Sufin said that the KMT caucus is not planning to deal with the proposal until the DPP shows sincerity over incidents on Tuesday last week, when amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) were passed amid chaos “that ended in several of our lawmakers getting injured.”
Ker said jokingly: “I did not know KMT [lawmakers] were so weak that a light blow could have caused wounds that are not yet healed.’
Ker added that the injuries he sustained on Dec. 2 — when protesters allegedly assaulted him amid legislative consideration of the labor amendments — saw him “almost strangled to death.”
“However, I healed right away,” he said. “So it comes down to the question of attitude” on whether to discuss the budget proposal.”
Ker said that DPP lawmakers were hurt in the clash between legislators on Tuesday last week, calling on the KMT to withdraw more than 1,200 motions it used at the time to obstruct proceedings.
No consensus was reached on the budget proposal yesterday.
The caucuses agreed to hold a confirmation vote on Tuesday next week for Fair Trade Commission chairwoman nominee Huang Mei-ying (黃美瑛), vice chairman nominee Perng Shaw-jiin (彭紹瑾) and committee member nominees Honigmann Hong (洪財隆) and Kuo Shu-chen (郭淑貞).
They were nominated by the premier at the end of October.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)