Scuffles broke out among lawmakers yesterday at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee and Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, as they began reviewing proposed amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
The review, which was scheduled to start at 9am, did not begin until after 11am. Later, a motion to extend the review to midnight was passed.
New Power Party (NPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers tried to boycott the review by disputing the time limit for each lawmaker’s speech, but dissenters were forcibly carried away from the podium by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) tendered a motion to amend articles 32, 34 and 36 of the act.
The Cabinet’s draft bill would amend Article 32 to cap an employee’s working hours at 138 hours every three months, while Lin proposed that it be changed to 138 hours for three “consecutive” months.
As for Article 34, the Cabinet’s version would require at least 11 hours of rest between shifts, which could be shortened to eight hours if employers and employees reach a consensus.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
While the Cabinet plans to loosen the “one rest day” rule by amending Article 36, Lin proposed maintaining the version that was passed in December last year.
A motion tendered by DPP Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) to limit each lawmaker’s speech to six minutes — four plus two — was passed with the support of DPP lawmakers.
Opposition parties continued to try to delay the review by extending their speeches as long as possible, while disputing the time limit.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The ruling party should have stuck to its past position, NPP Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal said, citing a protest in 2014 by DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) against the three-minute time limit during a legislative review of a draft of the special regulations for free economic pilot zones (自由經濟示範區特別條例).
DPP lawmakers are replicating the political injustices that were ruled out by the nation’s voters, NPP caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said.
Amid intermittent scuffles between legislators of various parties, DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), who chaired the meeting, ordered an end to discussions on articles 24 and 32, and pushed them to a cross-caucus negotiation.
Photo: CNA
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to protest against the Cabinet’s draft amendment.
Barricades were on Sunday placed outside the legislative compound, while about 700 police officers were deployed to block off the area and form a human wall in front of protesters on Jinan Road.
At 11am, protesters tried to storm the compound, hurled eggs at the legislative building and scuffled with police, while clashes broke out as a result of two failed attempts to breach the police cordon.
The protest was still ongoing as of press time last night.
Additional reporting by CNA
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
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
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
RSS