The pan-blue dominated Procedure Committee yesterday rejected the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus' proposal to invite President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to deliver a state of the nation address to the legislature.
The proposed report would focus on the arms procurement bill.
The committee also refused for the 33rd time to place the arms procurement plan on the legislative agenda, as well as the list of Chen's nominees for the Control Yuan.
PHOTO: LUO PEI-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
DPP caucus whip William Lai (
"To disallow the president to address the legislature is a show of disrespect for the president and a violation of the president's constitutional right," Lai said.
Citing Article 4 of the Organization Act of the Legislature's Procedure Committee (
He also said People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Hwang Yih-jiau (
Lai was referring to a dispute that took place at the committee at noon.
DPP Legislator and committee member Wang To-Far (
"Remember, what you say and do today here will go into the history books," he said.
DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (
To show his support for Cheng, DPP Legislator Wu Bing-ray (吳秉叡) said that although he personally opposed amendments to the Law Governing Legislators' Exercise of Power (立法院職權行使法) proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus, he would not propose to delay it.
Pan-blue lawmakers, however, still proposed to block the arms procurement plan and Chen's nominees for the Control Yuan, as well as 16 other bills proposed by the DPP and its ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).
The two camps then launched into a debate over whether the Procedure Committee has the right to block bills that have completed due procedure.
Realizing that the debate was going nowhere, Hwang and KMT Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), who also serves as the executive director of the party's Central Policy Committee, proposed to put the issue to a vote.
The pan-blue dominated committee voted 18 to 12 to stop the discussion and vote on committee members' proposals to defer certain bills.
Stakked bills
Major DPP bills that have been obstructed by the Procedure Committee since the beginning of the sixth legislative term in February
1. Invite President Chen Shio-bian to deliver a state of the nation address focusing on the arms procurement plan: Blocked once
2. Arms procurement plan: Blocked 33 times
3. Amendments to the State-Owned Properties Law (國有財產法): Blocked 17 times
4. Confirmation of President Chen Shui-bian’s nominees for the Control Yuan: Blocked 15 times
5. Amendments to the Referendum Law (公民投票法): Blocked 7 times
6. Bill governing the survey and disposition of assets and properties of political parties and their affiliates: Blocked 7 times
7. Administrative corporation bill (行政法人法): Blocked 7 times
8. Amendments to the Immigration Law (入出國及移民法): Blocked 7 times
9. Homeland restoration act (國土復育條例): Blocked 7 times
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS