Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday accused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of reviving “black gold” politics with a proposed amendment that would help party legislators whose election victories have been annulled to keep their posts.
DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) told a press conference that KMT legislators had proposed an amendment to the Public Officials Election and Recall Law (公職人員選舉罷免法) that stipulates that elected officials whose election victories have been annulled would only lose their posts after a third and final trial, with no time limit imposed on the duration of each trial.
Chai said the current law removes elected officials from their post after losing a second trial; each trial must also be completed within six months.
The Yunlin District Court on Friday annulled the election victory of KMT Legislator Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) in a first trial. Chang's rival, DPP legislative candidate Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國), filed a lawsuit in January, accusing Chang of bribery.
Chang said he would appeal the decision.
“The amendment is aimed at prolonging the trials and helping KMT legislators maintain their posts. With such a law, Chang would be able to finish his term because the final verdict would be delayed indefinitely,” Chai said.
Of the 60 KMT lawmakers elected to local constituencies, five have seen their victories annulled, and the KMT aims to keep them in their posts by amending the law, the DPP legislator said.
By assisting questionable legislators, Chai said the KMT was attempting to revive “black gold” politics, or political corruption.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) shrugged off the DPP's criticism, saying the bill had been proposed a while ago and that both the KMT and the DPP could deliberate over how to amend the law.
Lin accused the DPP of attempting to discredit the KMT, saying a single legislator's proposal did not reflect the stance of the entire caucus on amending the law.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS