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.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS