The Legislative Yuan’s Procedure Committee resolved yesterday to hold an extra plenary session on Monday to deal with a number of delayed bills.
The bills lined up for review include a controversial amendment to the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) and a proposal that would call on China to admit and apologize for its military crackdown on unarmed civilians in and around Tiananmen Square 20 years ago.
The committee’s decision means the legislature will hold three consecutive plenary sessions before the legislature goes into recess next Tuesday.
Legislators are scheduled to discuss three “green” bills during the three plenary sessions on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, developing renewable energy and managing energy.
Also on the agenda is a proposal by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that would urge the government to support Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi while and consider imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar until its junta improves human rights conditions.
Lawmakers will also discuss a proposed amendment to the Labor Union Act (工會法) that would allow teachers to organize labor unions for the first time in the nation’s history.
Meanwhile, legislative sessions may be brought to a standstill again today as the Internal Administration Committee and the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee are scheduled to review the three agreements and one joint statement signed during the third round of cross-strait talks.
Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), and his Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), signed four pacts during their meeting in Nanjing in late April.
DPP caucus has vowed to scrutinize the agreements while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus has promised to fully support them during the committee’s review.
Also See: EDITORIAL: Yet more cynical amendments
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
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS