The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) will petition the Council of Grand Justices to interpret the constitutionality of the organic law of the National Communications Commission (NCC, 國家通訊傳播委員會組織法), a TSU lawmaker said yesterday.
Ho Min-hao (
As the petition requires the endorsement of more than 73 legislators, the TSU -- which has only 12 lawmakers -- will lobby for support from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Ho said.
Pushed through by the pan-blue camp on Oct. 25 and promulgated by the president on Nov. 9, the NCC law stipulates that 15 representatives will be recommended by the legislature according to the share of seats held by each political party, and the Executive Yuan will recommend three, within 10 days after the law's promulgation.
The commission's 13 members will then be selected from among the 18 nominees by an 11-member review committee, all of them professional experts and academics recommended by political parties based on proportional representation, through open votes within 15 days.
Successful candidates will be named by the premier, who will send the name list to the legislature for approval before officially appointing them, according to the law.
Both the TSU and DPP disapprove of the law, claiming that the legislation will allow political influence in the NCC that is supposed to maintain independence.
However, the DPP has said it will not request a constitutional interpretation on the law unless the pan-blue camp tries to sway the NCC's operations.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) announced on Friday that the party is accepting public recommendations of NCC nominees and promised that the KMT will not interfere in the operations of the NCC after its formation.
People First Party Legislator Lee Yung-ping (
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it