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.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS