A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker yesterday joined opposition parties in demanding the resignations of Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) and Water Resources Agency Director-General Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) for what he called negligence in fixing the nation's flooding problems.
DPP Legislator Tu Wen-ching (
Chen said that some officials would have to step down to shoulder responsibility for the unsolved water-supply problems plaguing Taoyuan County.
Tu made the remark yesterday morning before listening to briefings by Ho and Chen Shen-hsien, who were invited by the DPP caucus to speak about the government's proposed eight-year, NT$80 billion flood-control project.
The DPP hopes to call a special legislative session to pass the flood-control bill, as well as five other bills the party deems to be urgent.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Tu said that Ho and Chen Shen-hsien have showed little concern for the flooding problem in his constituency of Miaoli County.
"One segment of the embankment along Ta-an River collapsed last year, and it has not yet been fixed. I have no idea what you have been doing," Tu said.
While residents of Taoyuan Countyintermittently do not have water, Tu said that many people in his constituency do not have any tap water whatsoever.
Before Ho and Chen Shen-hsien could respond or start their briefings, Tu stormed out of the room.
Taoyuan prosecutors have launched an investigation into whether corruption was involved in the construction of the pumping station and the cleaning of the reservoir.
The NT$100 million (US$3.14 million) pumping station was built last September to ensure normal water supplies during post-typhoon periods. Construction was completed in May.
Prosecutors have said that pumping machines breaking down led directly to the current water-supply problems in southern Taoyuan County.
Opposition legislative caucuses yesterday reiterated their calls for Ho's resignation.
Saying that "a wrongheaded government policy is worse than corruption," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (
Sun Ta-chien (
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS