A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus member yesterday said the caucus would prioritize a proposed amendment to the Local Government Act (地方制度法) by April, a move seen by many as paving the way for the merger between Taichung City and Taichung County.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) told reporters that the caucus hoped the proposed amendment would clear the legislative floor by mid-April.
The proposal, approved by the Executive Yuan on Nov. 20, would allow cities and counties to merge into special municipalities.
The act only allows non-merged cities or counties to become a special municipality.
The Executive Yuan said the merger between Taichung City and Taichung County could be complete by Dec. 25 next year at the earliest.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) previously promised to complete the merger between Taichung City and Taichung County during his first term of office.
When asked for comment, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the legislature should also pass the draft administrative zoning act and amend the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as reorganization of the nation’s administrative regions would affect the financing of local governments.
However, Lin said he was concerned that the progress of the proposed amendment to the Local Government Act might be delayed if the KMT adopted the DPP’s suggestion.
“We will negotiate with them [the DPP] and see how to best meet the needs of the nation,” Lin said.
Lin also dismissed media speculation that the caucus decided to prioritize the proposed amendment to the Local Government Act because the KMT was eyeing the upcoming city mayor and county commissioner elections.
The Ministry of the Interior said on Nov. 20 that Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), who is serving his second term, would be entitled to run for mayor of the new special municipality if Taichung City and Taichung County were successfully merged.
Although reorganizing the nation’s administrative regions would indeed affect the support strongholds of each political party, the caucus was only trying to better reorganize the nation’s land and did not have elections in mind, Lin said.
“We will also prioritize other bills. Bills such as the government’s special budget request of a maximum of NT$500 billion [US$14.8 billion] to boost the economy for the next four years are of equal importance,” he said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS