Citing doubts about the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) sincerity in negotiating on a joint nomination of candidates for the legislative elections, the People First Party (PFP) yesterday again threatened to withdraw its cooperation with the KMT on blocking a legislative amendment that could scupper former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou's (
"Many of our caucus members are very unhappy with the KMT about the legislative nomination issue. We might just take a step back and watch what happens in [today's] Procedure Committee meeting," PFP legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (
Today's weekly Procedure Committee meeting will again deliberate over whether to put an amendment to the President and Vice President Election and Recall Law (
The amendment, introduced by the Democratic Progressive Party, proposes that anyone found guilty of corruption in an initial trial be barred from running for the presidency or vice presidency. Ma, who has been charged with embezzlement, could lose his shot at the presidency if the bill is promulgated.
PFP Legislator Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國) said that the party would not side with the KMT on the amendment unless the KMT honors its commitment to the two-party agreement outlining the principles for a joint nomination system.
"According to the agreement, at least seven incumbent PFP lawmakers should be nominated as joint candidates. The KMT has to guarantee this," Feng said.
The amendment was put on the agenda for the first time on April 17 after four PFP lawmakers and a Non-Partisan Solidarity Union lawmaker on the committee who could have helped the KMT vote down the pan-green camp were absent from the meeting.
But on April 20, six hours after the agreement was signed following an overnight negotiation session, the PFP helped the KMT pass a vote adjourning the plenary session, as a result of which the amendment was sent back to the Procedure Committee.
"We agreed during the night's talks that the two parties have two weeks to discuss joint nominations, but the KMT does not seem committed to the agreement," Fu said.
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
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
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