The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday backed away from its plan to call an extra legislative session next month to push through the controversial cross-strait service trade agreement, meaning that the review process for the deal is not to begin until March next year.
“As there are still another three public hearings, we have decided during cross-party negotiations that no extra session to discuss the agreement will be called during the recess,” KMT legislative caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) said.
A total of 16 public hearings were scheduled to be held by the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee from Sept. 30. The three remaining sessions are set for Jan. 2, Jan. 13 and March 10.
Caucus whips from all parties reached the decision not to hold an extra legislative session at a meeting chaired by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucuses had vowed to boycott a screening of the cross-strait service trade agreement “at all costs,” should the KMT caucus initiate an extra session to ratify the agreement during the recess .
Lawmakers decided to extend the current session, which comes to an end on Dec. 31, to Jan. 14 to complete a review of amendments to the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (通訊保障及監察法).
The amendments were pushed to the forefront in this legislature session due to revelations of illegal wiretapping practices in the cases related to allegations that the legislative speaker and DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) exerted undue influence on the judicial system.
The cases also prompted some legislators to propose an amendment to the Organic Act of Courts (法院組織法) to abolish the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Division over the controversial measures used by Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) to investigate the alleged improper lobbying.
However, lawmakers decided yesterday to delay in the session a review of this amendment, according to TSU legislative caucus whip Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信).
The chief mechanic in an air force unit from which an F-16 and its pilot went missing last week died on Sunday evening in what might have been a suicide, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The ministry in a statement confirmed media reports that the mechanic, surnamed Huang (黃), “hurt himself” at a military barracks. Huang was taken to Hualien Armed Forces General Hospital after he was found unresponsive in the barracks, but doctors could not revive him, the ministry said. Huang served in the 26th Tactical Fighter Group of the 5th Tactical Fighter Wing, the same unit as the missing
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) last night said that it had no comment about reports that a senior US Navy officer had arrived in Taipei for a visit. Several media outlets reported that Rear Admiral Michael Studeman, director of intelligence of the US Indo-Pacific Command, arrived at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) on a special charter flight at about 7pm. The schedule of a “senior US official” in Taiwan would not be made public, the ministry said in a news release, without confirming the visit or the official’s identity. Interactions and exchanges between Taiwan and the US are common, and visits
NON-TYPICAL: Apart from Atsani, storms in autumn missed Taiwan, rainfall has been lower and average temperatures have been higher, a CWB forecaster said The current water shortage is expected to worsen in the next few months, with the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday forecasting a colder, dryer winter than normal. With winter starting next week, the bureau at a media briefing outlined the expected conditions through February and reviewed autumn’s significant weather events. Weather Forecast Center director Lu Kuo-cheng (呂國臣) said that autumn this year had three major characteristics: First, 13 tropical storms and typhoons formed from September to this month, up from 11 in the same period last year, Lu said. Apart from Atsani, for which sea and land alerts were issued in Taiwan, the tropical
‘VIRUS DIPLOMACY’: The nation’s expertise in handling COVID-19 was among the reasons that it should not be excluded from the WHO, the European Parliament said The European Parliament this week passed resolutions that support Taiwan’s bid to participate in the WHO and its intention to negotiate a trade pact with Taiwan. During its plenary session from Monday to Thursday, the parliament approved resolutions on the foreign policy consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak and the EU’s trade policy, parts of which were viewed as friendly toward Taiwan by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a statement yesterday, the ministry welcomed the passage of the resolutions and thanked the parliament for its support for Taiwan. In the first resolution, the parliament cited Beijing’s increasing threats to Taiwan, the crackdown on
RSS