Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) failed to get his party's version of the arms procurement bill approved by its legislators yesterday, as the KMT legislative caucus decided instead to postpone the proposal indefinitely.
Ma and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
KMT lawmakers, however, refused to back their chairman's proposal, with caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (
A three-hour meeting was held on the matter at KMT headquarters last night in the hope of reaching some consensus. That meeting also failed to reach any firm conclusions, however.
In an interview last month with the Journalist, a local Chinese-language weekly magazine, Wang said that the KMT version of the arms bill would do away with the six Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile systems and the eight diesel submarines, leaving only 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft on its "shopping list."
However, it seems enthusiasm for the propsal has waned.
"Most of our [caucus] members didn't think it necessary at this moment in time to come up with our [own] version [of the bill]," Tseng told reporters after the meeting.
The meeting started with a briefing by KMT Legislator Su Chi (
Su said the president's decision to cause the National Unification Council to cease to function and the National Unification Guidelines to cease to apply was the main reason that KMT lawmakers had decided not to bother with proposing a KMT version of the arms bill.
"[The president's] announcement on the unification council and guidelines implied that [Chen] is moving in the direction of independence. Our support of the arms bill now will seem like an encouragement for Chen [to pursue independence]," Su said.
It was KMT Legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩) who suggested postponing the party's submission of a version of the bill indefinitely. She said that Taiwan should be cautious not to send out the wrong signals at a time when the president has put independence on his agenda, which could result in the possibility of war across the Taiwan Strait.
While Ma was believed to have hoped that KMT caucus members would have voted in favor of his proposal, Lei said that KMT legislators didn't feel any pressure from the chairman.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
RSS