The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it intended to include three controversial bills aimed at allowing Chinese students to study in Taiwan and giving recognition to Chinese credentials during the second planned extra legislative session in August.
“Since the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] has also proposed its own versions of the bills, we should be able to negotiate the bills [during the session],” KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said.
Lin's confirmation came after Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) told a meeting of private university presidents at Fu Jen Catholic University on Monday that he expected the bills to clear the legislative floor in August.
Wu said the bills “will absolutely” be included on the agenda, adding that if everything went smoothly, local universities would begin recruiting students from China in the next academic year.
Wu said about 2,000 Chinese students would be able to enroll in local universities after amendments take effect, adding that the ministry was opposed to writing the number of students in the law because the cap could be relaxed over the years.
The KMT caucus plans to call two extra legislative sessions — one by the middle of next month and the other in the middle of August — to review the government's planned economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China.
The KMT and the DPP have been debating whether the legislature should review the agreement article by article.
The inclusion of the three Chinese students-related bills in the agenda for the extra sessions adds to the possibility of conflict on the legislative floor.
KMT and DPP legislators had scuffled during a number of committee sessions in the spring session when lawmakers were scheduled to review the bills.
Both parties still cannot see eye-to-eye regarding a DPP request to enshrine in law a series of restrictions targeting Chinese students proposed by the Ministry of Education.
DPP caucus secretary-general Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) yesterday called on the KMT caucus not to include the controversial bill in the extra sessions, adding that if it did so, the DPP caucus would “strongly boycott” the bill, as it did in the last session.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost