Independent lawmaker Sisy Chen (
Both lawmakers said a shared desire to prevent partisan rows from paralyzing the Legislative Yuan prompted them to side with the PFP caucus, which will now be able to win an extra seat in the Procedure Committee as a result of its increased size.
"Oftentimes, partisan feuding starts in the Procedure Committee that sets the legislature's agenda," Chen told reporters.
"Its 36 seats would be equally divided between the ruling and opposition camps if I didn't join either side," she said.
By aligning herself with the PFP, Chen said she can better push for policy initiatives she cares about and help enhance overall legislative efficiency.
One initiative she wants to push this legislative session is a proposal to deprive the Department of Health of the power to adjust national health insurance fees.
She said she will also keep a close eye on the Taiwan High Speed Railway project, which she thinks has been sponging off of the state coffers.
Chen insists she will remain an "independent."
"I will not take part in internal PFP activities nor assume any position in its 2004 presidential campaign," she said.
Echoing Chen's stance, Wu said he hoped his joining the PFP caucus can give the pan-blue camp an upper hand in the Procedure Committee and the legislature as a whole.
"Without affiliation to any legislative caucus, I acted like a guerrilla in the last two sessions," he said. "By working with the PFP, I hope to better serve my constituents on Kinmen."
The New Party lawmaker said he was also motivated by a desire to help bolster the joint effort by the KMT and the PFP to unseat President Chen Shui-bian (
The KMT and PFP now hold 112 seats in the 223-member legisl-ature, whose size has dropped by two seats following the death of PFP Legislator Hsieh Chun-hui (謝鈞惠) and the resignation of DPP Legislator Chou Po-lun (周伯倫), who recently began serving a prison sentence for corruption.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS