The eight legislative standing committees conducted votes yesterday to decide on their conveners, the result of which saw each committee with one Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator and one Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator taking over the positions.
The new legislative plenary session commenced on Friday, and yesterday the eight standing committees, with committee members unchanged, chose a total of 16 new conveners by casting ballots.
There are two conveners in each committee and usually one of them would be from the ruling party, the KMT, and the other from the major opposition party, the DPP, and this plenary session would be no exception.
Committees that are expected to handle controversial or attention-grabbing bills include the Internal Administration Committee, which will review the cross-strait service trade agreement, the Economics Committee, which will deliberate the bill for the establishment of free economic pilot zones, and the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, which has to deal with the suspended bill on same-sex marriages.
The Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee was headed by two KMT legislators in the past session, as DPP Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) lost the convener position to KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) in a draw that took place following a tie in votes.
Yu garnered the place this time, again by a draw.
Civil groups supporting same-sex marriage cheered the result, as “both Lu and KMT Legislator Liao Cheng-ching (廖正井) are against same-sex marriage and had suspended the bill for 10 months,” the Students United Front for Same-Sex Marriage said.
Yu has been one of the most LGBT-friendly legislators and proposed the same-sex marriage bill.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) and DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) are the new conveners of the Internal Administration Committee, where KMT Legislator Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠), the former convener, had rammed through the cross-strait service trade agreement and touched off the student-led Sunflower movement protests.
Wu said he had been reluctant to assume the job and it was only to form a caucus that he took over the position. He added that the service trade pact would only be reviewed when the cross-strait agreement oversight bill has reached a certain stage, and “it is not necessary that the review of the service pact be done [during this session.]”
Lee also reiterated the DPP’s stance of “first the establishment of an oversight mechanism and then a review of the service trade pact.”
KMT Economics Committee convener Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said she expects that the bill dealing with free economic pilot zones would be thoroughly discussed during the new session, but no schedule for completion has been set.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS