TSU and DPP lawmakers yesterday demanded PFP Legislator Diane Lee (
The four-day-long soap opera began with Lee accusing Twu of kissing restaurant proprietor Cheng Ko-jung (
But TSU lawmakers say they consider Lee's apology to be insufficient punishment and urged her to resign.
"Although Lee made the apology, she is not remorseful for what she has done," said TSU Legislator Liao Pen-yen (
He pointed out that the job of lawmakers is to monitor, not to vilify, officials.
"Lee collaborated with the media to hand down the verdict before a trial was held. Her modus operandi has not been halted," Liao said.
Liao said lawmakers such as Lee have provoked commotion in society because they have often launched groundless accusations in order to raise their own level of exposure in the media.
In March 2000, after the KMT lost the presidential election, former New Party lawmakers Elmer Fung (
In September 2000, PFP Legislator Chin Huei-chu (秦慧珠) accused President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of having received US$5 million in financial aid from China during his presidential campaign.
On April 2 this year, PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
Following the confirmation hearings for the Examination Yuan's president in June, KMT Legislator Lee Chia-chin (
Liao said none of these allegations have proven to be true and that the purpose of these pan-blue lawmakers obviously was to attack the government.
DPP Legislator Peter Lin (林進興) suggested that the legislature's
Discipline Committee chastise Lee in the event that she does not resign.
Sharing the view of other pan-green camp legislators, Lin said Lee's apology was not sufficient to return justice to Twu, whose reputation he says was greatly smudged by Lee and Cheng's allegations.
"The Discipline Committee must mete out some sort of penalty," Lin said.
According to the Legislative Yuan's regulations, the Discipline Committee can request that a lawmaker committing an improper act offer an apology and/or face a three-to-six-month suspension, depending on the gravity of their wrongdoing.
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
DEMAND: The government should enact regulations in line with Austria and Germany to incorporate vegan nutrition into school meals, an advocate said More than 1,000 people yesterday marched in Taipei to promote veganism, calling for legislation to incorporate vegan diets into school lunches and the national net zero emissions program. Participants gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building for the march, which was organized by the Vegan Action Network (VAN). Former ambassador to Chad Chiu Chung-jen (邱仲仁), actor Yankee Yang (楊子儀) and actress Cindy Lien (連俞涵) attended the event. VAN member Marianne Chao (趙梅君) said that the campaign aimed to urge the government to promote vegan diets across schools and government agencies via legislation and national policies, which would help build