The legislature yesterday voted in favor of upholding two newly passed amendments to the Farmers' Association Law (農會法) and the Fishermen's Association Law (漁會法), enabling association staffers standing trial to retain their posts until a final verdict is passed.
At present the law states that indicted staff members would have to be dismissed when they are convicted in the second stage of a trial.
After the vote, a group of pan-blue lawmakers took to the floor of the legislature and chanted that Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
Ten days after he became premier, Chang urged the legislature to overturn the amendments, saying that they would pave the way for the return of "black gold" politics and damage the development of the associations.
The Constitution allows the Cabinet, with the president's consent, to ask the legislature to reconsider a law or amendment if it deems a statutory, budgetary or treaty bill passed by the legislature difficult to implement.
The premier is not required by the Constitution to resign if the reconsideration request is rejected. However, the premier is required to accept the results of the vote.
"Despite the Constitution, we still think that Premier Chang has to take political responsibility for losing the vote," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (
The Cabinet's request was defeated along party lines by a vote of 115 to 96. KMT Legislator Lee Sen-zong (李顯榮) and People First Part Party Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) were absent from the vote, while KMT Legislator Chen Chao-rung (陳朝容) cast an invalid ballot.
Tseng said that Lee and Chen would be punished as the KMT had ordered its members to vote against the Cabinet's request.
Lee, who reportedly has been recruited by the Democratic Progressive Party to run in the January legislative elections, told reporters that he "was free of the KMT now that the KMT doesn't care about me."
Lee skipped the KMT's legislative primary after it failed to negotiate on nomination matters between him and KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇).
Chen, who lost in the primary to Changhua County Council Deputy Spokesman Hsiao Ching-tien (
PFP Spokesman Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that Liu had gotten drunk on Monday night and couldn't make it to yesterday's vote.
Meanwhile, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
"In the end, the KMT chose to ally itself with `black gold.' The KMT chose to stand in confrontation with the Taiwanese people," he told a press conference.
"Members of the KMT caucus gave in to their caucus whip's order. Where were all the `reformists?' How could they sabotage their own political careers to safeguard KMT's interests?" Ker said.
DPP Legislator Wu Ming-ming (吳明敏) told another press conference that allowing convicted personnel to stay in farmers' or fishermen's associations showed the KMT's preference for "black gold politics."
Wu said there were 906 senior staffers in the farmers' associations nationwide and 172 of them were found guilty in the first trials, 32 were found guilty in second trials and four were convicted after three trials.
Blocking the reconsideration proposal not only went against the public's expectations but would create difficulties for the agriculture and fishing industries, he said.
Government Information Office Minister Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said that the Cabinet would accept the result, but felt sorry about the vote.
"Whether or not it was the right thing is up to the public to decide," Shieh said yesterday afternoon.
He also complained that KMT Legislator Diane Lee (
"She once complained that she had been threatened by gangsters. What she has done now would seem to contradict that," Shieh said.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
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
RSS