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.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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