Despite opposition from pan-blue lawmakers, Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday designated Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) as the new chairman of the Central Election Council (CEC). In addition to Chang and 12 other members appointed by Yu, the legislative caucuses of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Part (PFP) will each designate one more member to make up the 16-person council.
According to the statute governing the organization of the CEC, the council should have 11 to 19 council members, including the council chairman. Their tenure is three years. The premier makes the appointments, pending the approval of the president. The council's current term is due to expire tomorrow.
However, according to the newly passed Organic Standard Law of the Central Government Agencies (
While opposition lawmakers did not object to any of the 12 members Yu nominated, they expressed strong reservations about Chang, who was criticized for having pro-independence leanings.
"We're not asking that the council chairman has to be one of our own, but that person has to be politically neutral, because the council is an independent institution," said KMT Legislator Huang Teh-fu (黃德福). "Besides, Chang has little experience in election affairs."
Although Chang is not a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member, he was appointed as a member of the CEC two years ago and serves in the council's five-member legal team.
In one of the lawsuits following in the wake of the presidential election, the opposition alliance accused the CEC of having failed to properly separate people when they were voting in the election and the referendum.
While the statute governing the CEC's structure does not require the legislature's approval for the appointment of the council's chairman and members, Huang said that the Cabinet should have waited until the Organic Standard Law of the Central Government Agencies takes effect before announcing the appointments.
The legislature passed the law on the last day of the legislative session on Friday. The new legislation gives the legislature the right to approve the heads of the government's five independent institutions, which includes the CEC.
PFP lawmaker Hsieh Chang-chieh (謝章捷) said that the caucus does not rule out the possibility of requesting a legal interpretation from the Council of Grand Justices.
"We're completely disappointed with the DPP government, which claims to respect democracy but in fact does exactly the opposite," Hsieh said. "We hope the DPP government exercises self-restraint and stops meddling in the CEC, which is supposed to be an independent government organ."
The Democratic Action Alliance (民主行動聯盟) also voiced opposition to Chang's appointment, calling him a "grave disgrace of the CEC."
"If he eventually becomes the head of the CEC, the council's reputation and credibility will go bankrupt and the nation's democracy will be severely trampled," said Hsieh Ta-ning (
In response to the criticism, Chang said that he would exert himself to remain politically neutral in his new job.
"I've never been a DPP member, but I identify with the DPP administration's ideals such as safeguarding human rights and respecting the rule of law," Chang said. "I think my appointment has a lot to do with my insisting on pushing for reforms."
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS