Legislator Apollo Chen (
The proposal will be submitted if the numbers of the pan-blue alliance and the pan-green camp legislators that have endorsed the motion are equal, Chen said during a meeting with reporters.
Chen said that the motion had been endorsed by more than 30 lawmakers from across the political spectrum, including two of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). He added that DPP Legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (
He also expressed discontent at legislative caucus whips of the ruling and opposition parties for having prohibited their party lawmakers from endorsing the proposal, claiming that it is unreasonable for them to do so as they also understand that relevant matching measures are indispensable for the implementation of legislative reforms.
Chen said that he will seek to drum up support from Shen and other legislators of the pan-green camp that refers to the DPP and its ally -- the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU). Only when the pan-blue alliance and the pan-green camp lawmakers signing the motion are equal in numbers, will he not be branded as an "anti-reformist" while submitting the proposal, Chen said.
Hours after various political factions in the Legislative Yuan agreed to amend the Republic of China Constitution before the March 20 presidential election to reduce by half the number of legislators, several opposition lawmakers said that they support legislative reforms but worry that if it is done in haste, more problems will be created than are solved.
The Legislative Yuan's Committee of Constitutional Amendment passed the first reading of three draft constitutional revision bills on legislative reforms last week, under which the current 225 seats in the legislature will be cut to 113 starting from 2008, the current electoral system will be changed to a "single seat, two votes" system -- meaning one vote for an individual candidate and another vote for a political party in each constituency -- and legislators' terms will be extended to four years from the current three years.
The legislature is scheduled to deal with the three draft bills during a plenary session today in response to the public's repeated calls for upgrading the legislature's efficiency and quality.
According to deliberative rules of the Legislative Yuan, when any legislative caucus or legislator comes up with a motion against a draft bill that will be put to a second reading, the draft bill will be referred directly to joint negotiations and will be submitted to a plenary session for handling if no results are obtained within four months.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai