The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should replace caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in cross-caucus negotiations, New Power Party (NPP) caucus whip Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said yesterday, adding that the two no longer have mutual trust.
“I hope that the DPP will change who represents them in negotiations,” Hsu said, following earlier protests over the DPP caucus’ refusal to trade committee seats. “If that is not possible, I will work hard to contact individual legislators and sub-groups within the DPP caucus, rather than treating caucus representatives as the only point of contact.”
The NPP’s failure to gain its “wish list” seats on the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee and Transportation Committee threatens to hamper its ability to push key legislative priorities, including proposed supervisory legislation that was a key demand of the 2014 Sunflower movement.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Hsu said that Ker was not qualified to represent his party, because his views were out of line with rank-and-file legislators.
“There was an obvious disparity between Ker’s views and those within the party, because some legislators said that they were willing to switch, but Ker did not give any hint of this when he communicated with us,” he said, reiterating the NPP’s claims that several individual DPP legislators had expressed a willingness to exchange committee seats with NPP legislators.
Under Legislative Yuan rules, cross-party trades can take place only under the advocacy of cross-caucus negotiations.
Hsu said that on matters such as legislation to supervise cross-strait negotiations and agreements, he would no longer assume that Ker represented the position of the DPP caucus and would treat his statements as just a single perspective.
Ker was an exception to close cooperation between the NPP and the DPP prior to last month’s election, with Ker being the only DPP legislator against whom the NPP nominated a rival candidate.
“We just asked them and there is no such thing,” Ker said following a caucus meeting, adding that no DPP legislators have expressed a willingness to switch committee seats with NPP members.
He called Hsu’s criticism a “small matter” and said he would still communicate with the party.
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that even if legislators were willing to switch seats, they were obligated to first give priority to whichever DPP legislator wanted to sit on their committee.
“There has probably been some kind of misunderstanding that should clear up as soon as an explanation is made,” Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said ahead of an official trade of committee seats between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP).
The KMT traded a seat on the Education and Culture Committee for the PFP’s Finance Committee seat.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's