Eight legislators of different political stripes formed a special task force yesterday to push for early passage of a slew of "sunshine laws" that aim to rid Taiwan's politics of moneyed influence.
At the inaugural ceremony of the task force, members of the cross-party panel vowed to transcend partisan considerations.
KMT legislator Chen Shei-saint (
"All members also promise to serve as a conduit for the team's communications with their own legislative caucuses in discussing provisions of these `sunshine laws,'" Chen said.
The KMT legislator added that task-force members are committed to persuading their own legislative caucuses to allow their members to vote freely should showdown votes be held in the legislature.
"Even if we may be disciplined by our own parties, we are determined to give the priority to national interests instead of partisan interests," Chen stressed.
The seven other members of the team are Su Ying-kuei (蘇盈貴) of the TSU, Lee Yung-ping (李永萍) of the PFP, Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) and Julian Kuo (郭正亮) of the DPP and Huang Teh-fu (黃德福) of the KMT.
Chen said that the passage of "sunshine laws" is a nearly unanimous campaign promise of incumbent legislators from across the political spectrum.
"It is not only mainstream public opinion, but also a cross-party consensus. And now is the time to realize our campaign promise," he said.
Also at the inaugural ceremony, legislator Eugene Chao (
"To date, only a few relevant laws, including the Public Functionary Assets Disclosure Law (
"As many other important bills are still pending legislative approval, the goal of establishing clean politics remains a distant dream," he said.
The new cross-party panel has arranged a priority list of bills, including measures to regulate political parties and contributions, government lobbying and information disclosure.
"We have set the target that at least one `sunshine bill' must be passed at each legislative session," Chao noted.
In addition, Chao said, the panel would continue pushing the government to draft detailed enforcement rules to facilitate the implementation of several "sunshine bills" that have already cleared the legislative floor.
As many "sunshine laws" are closely related to party interests, discussions on various provisions are likely to trigger standoffs between the ruling and opposition parties.
"All members have reached a consensus that the common interests of all citizens will take precedence over any partisan interests," Chao said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS