Legislative watchdog Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) yesterday released its evaluation of lawmakers’ performance in the past legislative session, with 10 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators and 14 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers commended for their good work.
More than 200 evaluators, most of whom were ordinary citizens from all walks of life, took part in CCW’s evaluation sessions across the country, CCW chairman Ku Chung-hua (顧忠華) said.
Using the legislature’s on-line video-on-demand system, the evaluators assessed the legislators’ performance on the legislative floor, said Ku, adding that the number of bills legislators initiated, their attendance record and possible blunders were also taken into consideration during the exercise.
Among all members of the Internal Administration Committee, the DPP’s William Lai (賴清德), Yu Tien (余天) and Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) received the best evaluations, Ku said.
The KMT’s Justin Chou (周守訓) and Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), as well as the DPP’s Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), received the best grade for the Foreign and National Defense Committee, while the DPP’s Pan Meng-an (潘孟安), Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) and Chen Chi-yu (陳啟昱) topped the list for their work on the Economics Committee, Ku said.
On the Finance Committee, the DPP’s Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) and the KMT’s Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) obtained the best scores, while the KMT’s Chao Li-yun (趙麗雲), Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) and Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) outperformed other lawmakers on the Education and Culture Committee, Ku said.
The KMT’s Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), Chu Fong-chi (朱鳳芝) and Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) topped the list on the Transportation Committee, while the DPP’s Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) and the KMT’s Ho Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳) and Daniel Hwang (黃義交) were singled out for their performance on the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, Ku said.
Hawang Shiow-duan (黃秀端), professor of political science at Soochow University and one of the evaluators, said some legislators, such as the DPP’s Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) and Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), did not perform well in the last legislative session because they were occupied with campaigning in the December city and county chief elections.
Kuo said that in addition to holding similar performance evaluations, the CCW would continue to push for the establishment of a TV channel like the US-based C-Span.
“Transparency at the legislature is a cornerstone of democracy,” Ku said.
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
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS