The legislative caucus of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) threatened the Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday with "freezing" or "crossing out" its entire budget for next year if it continues to promote a national referendum on the KMT's stolen assets.
Speaking at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan, KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said the Executive Yuan's Referendum Review Committee vetoed a proposal filed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to hold a referendum on whether the KMT should return its stolen assets to the national coffers, but the Petition Committee, also under the Executive Yuan, ruled the proposal legitimate.
Hung rebutted Premier Su Tseng-chang's (蘇貞昌) claim that the Petition Committee's decision was "unquestionable" and DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun's remarks that it was up to the Executive Yuan to decide whether to hold the referendum. He added that the KMT caucus would not rule out freezing all budgets for the CEC and other relevant government agencies.
She also said that the KMT caucus would seek a constitutional interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices or lodge an administrative lawsuit via the Referendum Review Committee.
KMT Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓) said that if the CEC still insisted on a referendum, the party would launch a national campaign to force the DPP to return national assets which he claimed have been disposed of by the DPP over the past six years.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
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