The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said that Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) could not make his report to the Legislative Yuan today until he has issued a formal apology for infringing on the Constitution and making comments that showed contempt for the legislature.
The DPP caucus, which boycotted Jiang’s report on the opening day of the current legislative session on Sept. 17, reached a consensus yesterday after a caucus meeting that it would maintain the boycott if Jiang failed to apologize today, DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said.
“No apology, no report. Our position on the issue could not have been more clear,” Wu told reporters.
The premier’s comments that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) was incompetent because of his involvement in an alleged improper lobbying case and Jiang’s endorsement of a similar accusation by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) against Wang at a press conference had infringed on the constitutional mechanism, the DPP caucus said.
The DPP agreed to drop four other preconditions for hearing Jiang’s report, but insisted that the premier apologize, saying the dignity of the legislature must be upheld.
Wang, who chaired a failed inter-party negotiation on Sept. 17, yesterday said that he would make one more effort to convince the opposition parties to withdraw their boycott in the negotiation this morning.
The DPP caucus said it would demand that the Special Investigation Division (SID) be abolished and related laws be amended, and that Jiang and Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming’s (黃世銘) report to the legislature on the handling of the Wang-Ker case, which many described as unconstitutional and illegal.
Meanwhile, the KMT and the DPP had eight spots apiece in the elections for conveners of eight legislative committees yesterday.
With two conveners for each committee, the 16 newly selected conveners also formed the Discipline Committee for the current session.
The Discipline Committee will be tasked with the case involving DPP caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), who was accused of asking Wang and high-ranking judicial officials to use their influence to sway a legal case.
Ker on Sept. 18 proclaimed his innocence and demanded that the Discipline Committee review his alleged role.
The senior lawmaker would be subject to a suspension of up to six months if the committee ruled against him.
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
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
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