The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus is scheduled to vote tomorrow for its candidate for deputy legislative speaker prior to the start of the new legislature next month, KMT Secretary-General Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) said yesterday.
Several senior KMT legislators, including Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) and Chen Ken-te (陳根德) have signed up to run for the position, KMT Culture and Communication Committee Director Chuang Po-chun (莊伯仲) said, adding that more people might enter the race before registration ends today.
Veteran Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) is expected to retain his post following Saturday’s elections, but the vice speaker spot is open.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
KMT Legislature Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who has served since 1990, has also been widely seen as a possible candidate, but she said she has not made a decision.
Liao said the caucus would elect the nominee who can best mediate the opposing interests of the different parties and make sure the legislative sessions run smoothly.
The final vote for the position will take place on Feb. 1, the same day as the swearing-in ceremony for the new legislature, which will be made up of 64 KMT legislators, 40 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators and nine seats held by other parties.
The DPP said it would weigh whether to nominate candidates for the posts of speaker and vice speaker or seek cooperation with other parties in the legislature.
In related news, Wang yesterday said that either lawmakers could invite the president to present a state of the nation address or the president could take the initiative and submit a state of the nation address to the legislature.
Wang added that any questions posed to the president by lawmakers should not fall outside the framework of the president’s address.
“If the legislature agrees, of course the president can come and give a state of the nation address,” he said. “Following his speech, lawmakers can request further explanations about his address, but the president is not obligated to answer questions not related to the speech.”
Wang praised the idea of the president delivering a state of the nation address to the legislature, saying that dialogue between the president and the legislature would be good for the country and could create harmony between parties.
The Act Governing Legislators’ Exercise of Power (立法院職權行使法) requires support from more than a quarter of the legislature during a plenary session to invite the president to present his national security policy direction.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said the KMT caucus could second the idea provided the address was not followed by formal questions from lawmakers and that the president receives due respect from the legislature.
The DPP said it welcomed the address, but submitted some preconditions.
“President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should offer some explanation on the content of the address and he should be formally questioned by legislators,” DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said, adding that a state of the nation address without questions would be meaningless.
“If the address is made for Ma to tell us what he has achieved and what his policies are, he can do that with a press conference at the Presidential Office,” Tsai said.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai