The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislative caucus said yesterday that it would not sign an agreement establishing a committee to review the establishment of the national security mechanism during the election, unless other parties agreed to create a committee to review the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) assets.
Two days ago, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), KMT and People First Party (PFP) caucuses agreed to form a committee to review the documents concerning the national security mechanism.
The committee would be required to produce a report within one month.
The TSU was not present at these inter-party negotiations and has since refused to sign the agreement.
TSU caucus whip Chen Chien-ming (
"The KMT has filed a lawsuit to request that the court nullify the election and investigate the national security mechanism, but they are still asking to form a committee to deal with the mechanism. This is nonsense," Chen said.
"Furthermore, they are trying to abuse justice, and that's shameless. They intend to violate the principles of the justice system and the Control Yuan, and that's lawless," Chen said.
"We propose the simultaneous creation of a committee to review the documents on the KMT's party assets, otherwise we won't agree to a committee focusing on the national security mechanism," said TSU legislator Lo Chih-ming (
In related news, independent legislator Chu Hsing-yu's (
Chu's proposal for the tentative Statute on Financial Penalty Charges (
The proposal can be put to the vote on Tuesday, by which time it will have been under negotiation for four months. According to legislative procedure, a bill can be put to the vote after it has been discussed for four months in inter-party negotiations.
The Alliance of Independent Lawmakers yesterday afternoon motioned for all bills to go through further negotiations instead of passing.
The amendment to the Presidential Election and Recall Law (總統副總統選舉罷免法) was also held back for further discussion.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,