New Power Party (NPP) legislative candidates yesterday castigated “insincere” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposals for reforming the Legislative Yuan, calling for meaningful restrictions on the legal role of cross-caucus negotiations as part of any reform package.
“It is fundamentally about manipulating the election and cheating votes out of people,” said NPP legislative candidate Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智), adding that the KMT’s legislative caucus had previously repeatedly rejected reforms similar to those proposed by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) last week.
Chiu’s campaign manager, Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), a prominent leader in last year’s Sunflower movement, called proposals by Wang “fake” and “non-democratic.”
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Wang last week called for drafting new legislation to clearly spell out committee hearing procedures along with other changes, calling on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to present a competing proposal by Thursday, at the same inviting Chen and fellow Sunflower leader Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) to meet and discuss legislative reform.
Chiu said Wang’s proposal would further increase the power of the legislative speaker and the different party caucus whips, to whom it would dedicate sole power to call cross-caucus negotiations, removing current legal provision allowing individual legislators to use a petition drive to initiate negotiations.
“Our main criticism of cross-caucus negotiations is that they are extremely authoritarian — concentrating power in the hands of a few, while diluting the power of individual legislators to exercise their legislative authority,” he said, adding that removing individual legislators power to call talks would be “taking a step in the wrong direction.”
Hsu Wei-chun (徐偉群), a professor of law at Chung Yuan University, said that under current rules, any results of cross-caucus negotiations are sent directly the legislative floor where they are passed automatically, unless eight or more legislators sign a petition requiring a vote. Speeches about the results can be made from the legislative floor only by party representatives designated by party leaders, he said.
Citizen’s Congress Watch executive director Chang Hung-lin (張宏林) said the secrecy of cross-caucus negotiations allows legislators to avoid taking a stance on controversial legislation, adding that its existence also discouraged legislators from investing time in budget reviews.
“Every time you work hard to conduct a review, if there is any disagreement, then a cross-caucus negotiation will be called — so what is the point of working hard to review every budget item? Our budget review process has already degenerated into cross-board cuts decided via cross-caucus negotiations,” he said.
Chiu called for use of cross-caucus negotiations to be limited to parliamentary procedure, such as agenda setting, rather than the specific content of bills.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS