With more than 400 pieces of legislation awaiting lawmakers' review, cross-party talks will be instrumental in helping the Legislative Yuan slog through the pile of paperwork.
"It appears inevitable that we'll have to burn the midnight oil when the session begins on Sept. 18, in light of the onerous workload," said DPP legislative whip Tsai Huang-liang (
Tasi called the task formidable, if not impossible.
Cross-party negotiations, he predicted, would decide the fate of most of the legislation. Of the 400 bills, 200 have been prompted by the continued downsizing of the provincial government and another 200 deal with reform of the legislature.
"The Cabinet has tagged them all as `urgent,'" Tsai said after a meeting of the DPP caucus and key government officials, including Presidential Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun and Cabinet Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁).
The figures do not include proposals put forth by the Economic Development Advisory Conference to boost the nation's economy, or legal amendments brought about by possible WTO entry in November, Tsai said.
What's more, the legislature is to break for the entire month of November, allowing incumbents to campaign before the poll on Dec. 1.
The review of the 2002 budget is expected to dominate the remainder of the session that will end in January.
That leaves little time for the legislature to get through everything that's sitting on its plate.
"We'll try to iron out opposition resistance the best we can through cross-party talks," Tsai said. "Hopefully, public sentiment against the legislature's inefficiency will make the mission easier."
As many as 70 percent of those polled blame the legislature for Taiwan's political chaos.
Still, the DPP legislative leader voiced skepticism over whether much can be achieved.
The opposition New Party, for instance, has vowed to boycott a proposed cut in the "land value increment tax," a capital gains tax for property transactions, saying the measure will further strain the government's finances.
Earlier, members of the DPP's New Tide faction also voiced concern over the proposed tax cut, but decided to stay silent in favor of unity.
DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source