The statute governing the arms deal with the US and its related budget plan failed to pass the Procedure Committee again yesterday, while the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) proposed resolution asserting the sovereignty of the Republic of China (ROC) was also rejected in the committee session.
Meanwhile, the request for the legislature to review Control Yuan member nominations was also rejected by the pan-blue camp again.
PHOTO: CHIEN RONG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
The DPP has attempted to get the statute, the budget plan and the request passed several times, while the sovereignty bill was brought up for discussion in the committee for the first time yesterday.
The DPP first proposed the resolution in an attempt to counter China's anti-secession bill.
The resolution states that the "ROC" is a sovereign and independent country neither governed by nor belonging to China. It also says that the cross-strait "status quo" cannot be changed unless the Taiwanese public consents to the change via referendum.
But the People First Party insisted that the DPP add a part about opposition to Taiwan's independence, or it would not approve of the resolution, and the pan-blue camp again rejected the resolution.
"The sovereignty of the ROC is already something that is acknowledged by the Taiwanese public, and proposing this resolution is like taking one's pants down before farting," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Huang Teh-fu (黃德福) said. The Chinese proverb "to take one's pants down before farting" means to engage in an unnecessary act.
Huang said that the most important thing that could be done to defend the ROC's sovereignty was for the pan-green camp to not pursue any activities related to independence.
To defend the resolution, DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
"Since the resolution needs to be approved by the legislature, we can always amend the resolution content," Lee said.
In related news, a partial amendment to the Criminal Code got its second reading in the sitting yesterday, and the amendment stipulates that the death sentence will be abolished gradually.
The amendment further stipulates that a prisoner sentenced to life can request parole only after having served 25 years, up from the current 15 years.
The maximum allowable sentence -- aside from a life sentence or a death sentence -- for a single offense remains 20 years, but a criminal accused of committing several offenses at the same time can receive a 30-year sentence, up from the current 20 years.
The most important change is the tightening of the parole threshold, and the imposing of severer sentences on prisoners committing several offenses at the same time. This is part of the government's policy of gradually abolishing the death sentence.
The amendment is slated to get a third reading -- to be officially approved by the legislature -- in the next sitting on Friday.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
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
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
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