Despite Premier Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) unprecedented visit to the legislature during the summer recess, a second-round of cross-party negotiations on holding a special legislative session failed to bear fruit yesterday.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) ruled that an informal plenary talk will be held next Friday to discuss the issue again as well as what bills would be screened during the session.
Wang also suggested that the next legislative session start on Sept. 13, about two weeks earlier than usual.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus wanted the plenary talk to be held either Monday or Tuesday, but Wang said next Friday would be more appropriate because government agencies need more time to include lawmakers' opinions into the proposed eight-year, NT$80 billion flood-fighting program.
Opposition caucuses also need time to map out their own version of the flood-prevention bill, Wang said.
"The next few days will be critical," Wang said. "I'm afraid the DPP caucus will be the biggest loser if they still refuse to budge."
The DPP caucus wants to get six priority bills passed during the special session. It plans to put its proposal to a vote at the plenary talk if necessary.
Opposition caucuses, however, may use their numerical advantage to veto the DPP's proposition.
Before yesterday's meeting, Hsieh led a team of government officials to brief lawmakers about the flood-fighting proposal.
Hsieh said government flood-fighting efforts during the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration had failed to resolve the problem and that the proposed project was approved by the Executive Yuan in May, not at the last minute.
Although opposition caucuses said they agree the flooding problem needs desperately to be addressed, they don't like the government's proposal.
The People First Party (PFP) caucus walked out of the meeting as Hsieh was answering legislators' questions, claiming that lawmakers were not given enough time to voice their opinions.
One representative from each caucus was given three minutes to discuss the proposal.
The PFP caucus also refused to dispatch any representative to attend the inter-party talk which followed Hsieh's briefing.
Calling the government's flood-control plan as "crudely prepared," PFP Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (
"How do they expect us to believe that the government is well prepared to do the job when there is no feasibility assessment nor a clear goal set in its report," he said.
PFP Legislator Li Yong-ping (李永萍) said the entire project was a political ploy to court southern voters for the year-end city mayor and county commissioner elections.
KMT caucus whip Lai Shyh-bao (
Lai also criticized the government's plan as "roughly sketched."
"The NT$80 billion bill contains only seven articles and 1,600 words -- or NT$50 million per word," Lai said.
"I'm very curious to know as to why the premier's predecessors failed to solve the flooding problem despite spending more than NT$20 billion a year over the past five years, but Premier Hsieh thinks he can do it with an investment of NT$10 billion a year for the next eight years," he said.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus whip David Huang (
Huang, however, requested the government clearly stipulate the ultimate goal of the project and the source of its funding.
Independent Aboriginal Legislator May Chin (
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
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
RSS