Some of the younger members of the legislature will be focusing on the economy and education when the Legislative Yuan's first session opens on Feb. 22.
One of the new faces, 33-year-old Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (
"A nation's economic problems cannot be solved by one legislator, but I will use my educational background in business administration to monitor the government's economic policies," she said.
She also promised to devote her time to education issues.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Lin-chun (
"They have no idea which policy to follow," Chiang said, pledging to supervise the government as it makes education-related decisions.
Chiang also promised to be more engaged in economic issues because of "the high unemployment rate in the south."
The youngest lawmaker in the new assembly, 27-year-old KMT Legislator Chang Chia-chun (
"Yunlin is an agriculture-based county and is more heavily influenced by the nation's economic situation than other cities or counties," said Chang, the daughter of one of the county's more powerful political figures, former county commissioner Chang Jung-wei (
As the only legislator who was born in the 1980s, Chang promised to voice the opinions of her generation in the legislature.
In related news, several civic groups said on Friday that the new legislature should be more transparent and open to help the public better understand its internal operations and inter-party negotiating system.
Ku Chung-hwa (
"More open hearings or debates should be held to help people understand the advantages and disadvantages of legislation," Ku said. "Every interpellation should be televised live and inter-party negotiations must be recorded."
Many groups have complained about the legislature's tendency to resolve contentious proposals behind closed doors, leading to suspicions of deal-making based on the lawmakers' individual interests.
Other basic information, such as bills pending or attendance records, have not always been readily available.
"In the past, the public couldn't get access to the body's internal rules and real-time information on its activities, which is not typical of a true democracy," Ku said.
The legislature is equipped with advanced communication facilities, so it should make a greater effort to boost transparency, said Thomas Peng (彭錦鵬), secretary-general of the Taiwan Competitiveness Forum.
"People also need to know about the attendance of the lawmakers and the voting process within the legislature," he said.
Former DPP legislator Chien Hsi-chieh, chief executive officer of the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan, said the legislature should set up or rent a TV channel to publicly broadcast every session.
"This will help people supervise our legislature and prevent corruption," Chien 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 fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
RSS