The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) once again dominated the elections for legislative committee heads yesterday, taking 14 out of the 16 seats on the eight standing committees.
But the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) managed to grab two seats on two committees by drawing lots with KMT lawmakers.
The DPP had difficulty securing more than one seat in the past two elections of the seventh legislature as it only has 27 places among the legislature’s 117 seats.
DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) and KMT Legislator Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠) will head the Internal Administration Committee for the fall legislative session.
Chiu was able to join the draw against Chang and KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) after KMT Legislator Justin Huang (黃健庭) “accidentally” voted for himself rather than for Wu as previously arranged by the KMT caucus.
Chiu said she was surprised to win the seat, adding that this was an opportunity for the DPP to handle cross-strait affairs and post-Typhoon Morakot reconstruction in an appropriate manner.
DPP Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩) and KMT Legislator Ho Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳) will lead the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee after KMT Legislator Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), who won the same number of votes as Chen and Ho, yielded to Ho.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said he was surprised the DPP took two seats because the caucus had finalized the candidates for committee heads after coordination among KMT legislators.
The DPP had urged the KMT to yield four seats to the DPP, but the KMT declined, saying the KMT needed to handle three major budget proposals and a proposed amendment related to government reorganization during this session.
KMT legislators Justin Chou (周守訓) and Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) will be responsible for arranging the agenda for the Foreign and National Defense Committee while KMT lawmakers Lee Fu-hsing (李復興) and Shyu Jong-shyoung (徐中雄) will be in charge of the Economics Committee.
The Finance Committee will be headed by KMT legislators Alex Fai (費鴻泰) and Lin Te-fu (林德福), while the Education and Culture Committee will be led by KMT legislators Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and Kuo Su-chun (郭素春).
The seats of the heads of the Transportation Committee went to KMT legislators Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) and Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) while KMT legislators Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) and Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) won the seats for the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
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