In light of Premier Tang Fei's (
Tang is set to deliver the Executive Yuan's semi-annual policy report to the legislature on June 2.
The policy report is conventionally followed by the general interpellation session, during which the premier and other Cabinet members are to answer questions posed by legislators.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, LIBERTY TIMES
However, as Tang has still not fully recovered from recent surgery, some legislators have proposed delaying the interpellation session.
Wang said yesterday that he has had his staff work out several plans to cope with the situation, including postponing the interpellation session or holding the session in an intermittent format.
Wang said inter-party negotiations will be held at the end of this month to discuss which plan to adopt, depending on the progress of Tang's recovery.
Tang underwent surgery on April 15 to remove a benign tumor from his chest, and had originally been dismissed from the hospital after a two-week recuperation. However, he returned to hospital on May 3 after suffering complications.
Tang's doctor has suggested that he work every other day, for half a day on each occasion, until he has fully recovered.
The DPP caucus has proposed letting Vice Premier Yu Shyi-kun fill in for Tang during the interpellation session, but all other opposition parties, including the KMT, People First Party (PFP) and New Party have expressed their disapproval of the idea.
Lin Chien-jung (
"Our caucus definitely won't consent to letting the vice premier stand in [for Tang]," Lin said.
Chiu Chuang-liang (邱創良), convener of the PFP caucus, said the interpellation session should proceed as scheduled on June 2, unless the Executive Yuan officially proposes delaying the session.
"The Executive Yuan must back its proposal with a proper excuse," Chiu said. "A responsible government is obligated to perform its duties."
Lee Wen-chung (
The DPP caucus will also try to convince most of its members to give up their right to question the premier so as to shorten the duration of the entire session, Lee said.
However, Lee said he isn't optimistic about the plan because the legislators will probably be unwilling to forego the opportunity to publicly question the premier and Cabinet.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2