President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday called the pan-blue dominated legislature "the biggest disaster in the country over the past three years."
Chen made the remarks in the latest edition of his regular e-newsletter, saying that many bills on the economy and others affecting livelihoods had been blocked by the pan-blues majority in the legislature.
He called on voters to pick candidates who can defend the public's interests in the Jan. 12 legislative election.
"There were thousands of bills pending review in the legislature, but the legislature only passed 393 bills over the past three years. On average, it screened less than 11 bills a month," Chen said.
Chen said the number of bills passed showed the "inefficiency" of the legislature.
"But one thing that was ironic was that the pan-blue dominated legislature launched three motions to depose the president in half a year," he said.
Citing a draft bill for rebuilding farm villages (農村改建條例) as an example, Chen said that the stalling of the act in the legislature showed that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
"The draft bill was designed to improve public construction and boost the economy in rural villages. How could the KMT not realize that this was a priority, especially after Ma spent so much time in farming villages during his long-stay program?" Chen said.
An amendment to the Labor Insurance Regulations (勞工保險條例), a draft judges law (法官法), an amendment to the Referendum Law (公民投票法) and an amendment to the Trade Union Law (工會法) were just a few of the bills pending in the legislature, Chen said.
"These are all bills that concern people's lives and have nothing to do with `politics.' I can totally understand how people are frustrated with the legislature," he said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators