A group of lawmakers from the ruling DPP took a legislative resolution blocking national health insurance fee hikes to the Judicial Yuan yesterday and sought a constitutional interpretation from the Council of Grand Justices.
Chiang Chau-yi (江昭儀), Hou Shui-sheng and Hsieh Ming-yuan (謝明源) met Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Yang Jen-shou (楊仁壽) to convey their stance and submitted a petition endorsed by 87 lawmakers of the DPP and its political ally, the TSU.
Chiang said the legislature's resolution made Jan. 10 opposing the hikes imposed by the Department of Health on insurance premiums and self-payment fees under the National Health Insurance Program is against terms stipulated in the Budget Law (預算法), National Health Insurance Law (健保法) and other pieces of legislation. "Therefore, the resolution is non-binding," he argued.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Hou said a constitutional interpretation on the issue by the Council of Grand Justices is necessary because strong opposition from the opposition KMT and PFP to approval of the hikes has caused trouble for the administration.
Meanwhile, Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) claimed that the resolution is indeed fully binding because it was worked out under the legal foundation provided by the 52nd article of the Budget Law.
Wang made the remarks in response to a statement issued a day earlier by Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i (林信義), who accused the legislature of overlooking the country's constitutional system.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS