The Legislative Yuan’s constitutional amendment committee yesterday met for the first time, electing its five conveners and setting an objective to complete proposals, such as lowering the voting age, by next year.
The meeting comes after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) made their own proposals for constitutional amendments following the nine-in-one local elections in November last year.
With 38 lawmakers taking part, the committee elected the KMT’s Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) and Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), as well as the DPP’s Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) and Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) as its conveners.
The conveners immediately met and reached agreements to hold two public hearings on constitutional issues per week — starting on April 9 — for five consecutive weeks, hoping to finish amendment drafts by mid-June so that they can be voted on in a referendum on January 16 next year when the legislative and presidential elections are due, Cheng told reporters after the meeting.
However Lu said that it would be a “difficult job to come up with amendment drafts by mid-June, since different parties have different ideas on different issues.”
“We’re under tremendous pressure,” he said.
The KMT hopes to pass amendments to improve the parliamentary system, enabling the legislature to choose the premier, while the DPP hopes to lower the threshold for amending the Constitution as well as increase the number of seats in the legislature.
Both parties agree that the legal age for voting should be lowered from 20 to 18.
“We suggest a two-phase constitutional amendment process, so that we can put non-controversial amendment proposals, such as lowering the voting age, to referendum first and then take time to negotiate other issues,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan Solidarity Union caucus whip Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌) accused the two major parties of overlooking the smaller parties after he was not chosen as a convener.
“Constitutional reform last time, which was also led by the two major parties, was criticized for overlooking the voices of the smaller parties,” Lai said.
“It’s the same situation again this time,” Lai added.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS