Cashing in on its numerical advantage, the legislature's pan-blue-dominated Procedure Committee yesterday placed the controversial "cross-strait peace advancement" bill on the legislative agenda as the first bill for discussion at next Tuesday's plenary session.
The bill, which passed the committee in an 18-14 vote, would create a special committee to handle cross-strait affairs that would assume the current functions of the Mainland Affairs Council and Straits Exchange Foundation.
Pan-green critics object to the bill because it would enshrine the "one China" concept into law, and usurp the executive branch's constitutional power over cross-strait policymaking.
The Procedure Committee's move yesterday set the stage for another emotional showdown in the legislature on Tuesday.
TSU caucus whip David Huang (
Making the bill law would not be in the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) interest, Huang argued, because the public would conclude that the People First Party is leading the KMT by the nose and getting it to cooperate with China's Communist Party to oppose pro-independence forces.
Meanwhile, the stymied arms procurement bill failed to pass the committee for the 35th time, despite Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Winston Dang's (
The committee also rejected the DPP's proposal to invite the president to brief the legislature on the arms procurement plan, and nixed three different versions of a party assets bill presented by the DPP, Taiwan Solidarity Union and Executive Yuan -- each designed to strip the KMT's of its ill-gotten gains.
The pan-blue-controlled committee also rejected a bill proposed by the Executive Yuan to establish a "clean government bureau" under the Ministry of Justice, saying that it is redundant because there is already an Investigation Bureau under the ministry.
In one rare example of cross-party harmony, the committee passed a joint resolution made by all caucuses supporting the president's selection of Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
That cross-party resolution comes despite the fierce opposition to Wang's visit from China, as well as resistance from South Korea, the host country for the summit.
KMT Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (
Tseng said that it was useless to condemn the premier now, as the truth of the matter is still gradually coming to light.
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