The motion to set up a constitutional amendment committee was passed yesterday by the legislature’s Procedure Committee to be placed on the agenda for the next legislative floor meeting on Friday.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has taken up long-proposed calls for constitutional amendments after its rout in last month’s nine-in-one elections.
A group of KMT legislators worked last week to align with opposition lawmakers to propose the establishment of a constitutional amendment committee in a bid to solve a constitutional-political impasse said to have led to political upheavals in the past few years.
Photo: Taipei Times
KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) and Democratic Progressive Party legislators Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) sponsored the motions to set up the committee, which according to law must be established to deliberate on revisions and reach resolutions.
KMT caucus whip Alex Fai (費鴻泰) said he expects the proposal to pass on Friday and added that a constitutional amendment team would be set up within the caucus to work out related issues.
The committee, if set up, would be the first since 2004.
Meanwhile, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), the sole contender for KMT chairperson, reiterated that “constitutional amendments are a must.”
Chu has proposed revising the quasi-presidential system to a fully parliamentary system.
However, not everyone in the KMT seemed to like the idea, with Greater Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), a KMT vice chairman, saying: “Do not try to abolish the presidential system out of dislike for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).”
Chu did not respond to Hu’s remark directly, but said that dysfunction in the political system has been manifest for the past 20 years and witnessed by everyone in the nation.
He is not the only one who has expressed concern over the current situation, Chu added, saying that the government must be reformed into one that sees power commensurate with accountability.
“[Amendments] should not involve partisan biases and personal calculation,” he said.
Chu said that, regardless of one’s attitude toward the proposed parliamentary system, anyone who is to roll out the amendment project has to speak to academics, experts and politicians from different parties.
Chu said the party would not be ruled by a single person’s dictates or by an unchallenged “supreme leader.”
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern