Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin I-hsiung (
Lin made the suggestion to DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (
Lin said he told Su that a ratification threshold which requires a 75 percent of majority votes means a negative vote could override three affirmative votes, which would violate the legal principle of the Constitution and the spirit of democracy.
Lin also told him that if Chen signs the law without asking the Executive Yuan to propose a veto on it, "then Chen would be making a mistake."
"President Chen should ask the Executive Yuan to veto the law and give the Legislative Yuan a chance to reconsider it," Lin said. "Only by doing so could Chen be called a president of a democratic country."
But Lin also said that he could see Chen's intention to safeguard the country's constitutional system by annotating the law with an explanation for using the 75 percent figure.
"But if the Executive Yuan does not propose a veto on that law, I would say it is an unsatisfactory outcome," Lin said.
Asked what action he would take if the Cabinet doesn't propose vetoing the law, Lin said he will watch to see what Chen does next.
Lin said Su told him that he would convey his suggestion to Chen "immediately" and that Su guaranteed the DPP will abide by its promises on constitutional reforms for voting affirmative votes on constitutional amendments.
"Su doesn't have to promise me anything because I know the DPP is a party that never fails people's expectations," Lin said he told Su.
Lin also apologized to Su for his "somehow impolite words" the other day, saying he saluted the DPP's immediate apology for the legislature's motion of reconsideration on the National Assembly's Exercise of Power.
"However, I think the DPP should make another apology for its passage of that law in the legislature and should try its best to find a remedy for it," Lin said.
Asked if he had pressured the DPP to submit the reconsideration to the legislature, which caused a rupture between the DPP and the opposition, Lin said no, adding that it was because the DPP had agreed with his ideas, but not because of him.
"I believed that President Chen also noticed that the law wasn't good and most legislators had the same opinion," Lin said.
Lin said he would also pay a visit to Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
He said Ma was the only high-ranking KMT member who might be willing to push the idea since Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner