The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Cabinet's proposal to abolish the requirement that commission members be approved by legislators has no bearing on the operation of the commission.
The Organic Law of the National Communications Commission (
The number of candidates each party can recommend is based on the percentage of its representation in the Legislative Yuan.
The nation's premier can only appoint candidates recommended by parties, and the decision has to be approved by the legislature.
The article has, however, been ruled unconstitutional by the Council of Grand Justices.
"The Cabinet has held many meetings regarding the formation of the commission," said NCC spokesperson Howard Shyr (石世豪) at its routine media briefing yesterday, "Not a single commission member was invited to attend those meetings," he added.
The commission, however, was willing to report to the Cabinet on its accomplishments over the last eight months, Shry said.
"We [the commission] do not have any proposal as to how we are going to respond to the decision," Shyr added. "As we have said before, the commission remains a constitutional institution based on the ruling, and the decisions it makes remain effective."
Shyr said the commission was "grateful" that the Cabinet specifically list stated in the amendment of the commission's organic law that the term of service of current commission members will not end until August 2008, when new legislators will be appointed.
"This shows that [the Cabinet] thinks there cannot be a vacuum in law enforcement" Shyr said.
NCC chairman Su Yeong-ching (
The ruling from the Council of Grand Justice, on the other hand, allows the commission to continue its functions until December 2008.
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