Lawmakers from across party lines yesterday voiced their doubts that the Legislative Yuan's Discipline Committee, long criticized for its inaction, will mete out appropriate punishments to unruly legislators involved in the latest outbreak of physical violence at the legislature.
The committee, comprised of the chairpersons of the ten legislative committees, has never taken action against members involved in violent conduct.
During a meeting of the Education Committee yesterday morning, independent legislator Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) struck female colleague Diane Lee (李慶安), who insinuated that he had misused his power and interfered in the reshuffle of the board of a private college being investigated for financial irregularities.
Tu Peng-sen (
Tu said that Legislative Speaker Wang Jing-pyng (
Wang told reporters he regretted the incident and promised to address it tomorrow at the latest.
The disciplinary committee may not take the initiative to probe the controversy unless asked to do so by the legislature.
Staff working for the committee would not talk to the media except to say that there was nothing the committee could do for the time being. Independent lawmaker Liao Hsueh-kuang (廖學廣) said that he doubted whether the committee would dare take any action against Lo, whom he blames for his abduction in 1996, during which time he was blindfolded, gagged and put in a cage. Liao had incurred Lo's wrath for criticizing his background in organized crime.
Lo admits to being one of the three founders and the "spiritual leader" of the Tien Tau Meng (天道盟), a syndicate of Taiwanese gangs. He denies, however, that the organization is involved in criminal activities.
Fearing violent reprisals, few lawmakers have the guts to challenge Lo, Liao said.
In the 1980s, Lo was jailed in a government campaign against hooligans. He later spent two years abroad in self-imposed exile before being elected to the legislature in late 1995.
"Everything will return to normal after the media frenzy subsides in a couple of days' time," Liao said, adding that it was certain that the disciplinary committee would not deprive any members of their powers, the severest penalty available.
Other potential punishments include denial of entry to legislative sessions or a mandatory apology to the person wronged. Echoing the sense of frustration, KMT lawmaker Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) warned that violence, if left uncurbed, would turn the legislature into a wrestling ring, in which muscle, rather than professional know-how, reigns supreme.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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