Leaders from all legislative caucuses have determined that lawmakers should not use foreign languages when questioning Cabinet officials.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) floated the suggestion, to which representatives attending a cross-party talk on Thursday evening gave their support.
The non-binding proposal was aimed at saving Premier Yu Shyi-kun and Cabinet officials from further embarrassment during interpellations.
Yu's English skills were put to the test on Tuesday when TSU lawmaker John Wang (
"I heard from abroad that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is arranging a meeting between first lady Wu Shu-chen (
Failing to understand the question, the premier looked perplexed. Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) had to come to his rescue and assume the role of an interpreter.
Yu then replied in Mandarin that he had a bumpy educational process and that his English is not good.
"I only speak a little English," he added, in English.
Legislative whips from across party lines promised the speaker they would ask their colleagues not to use foreign languages on the legislative floor.
They also reached a tentative agreement on how to divide the chairmanship of the 12 standing committees among the four legislative caucuses.
Each committee can elect three conveners whose main job is to preside over committee meetings.
Under the multi-partisan pact, the DPP, the biggest party in the legislature, will be given at least one chairperson's seat in all the committees.
The KMT will have 11 chairpersons' seats, the PFP eight and the TSU three.
The arrangement will become invalid if independent lawmakers lodge protests before Oct. 2, when the legislature is due to decide the membership of the individual committees.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the