The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday objected to credentials of nominees to the National Communications Commission (NCC), preventing cross-caucus negotiations from reaching a consensus and delaying confirmation votes.
Negotiations were called by Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) to finalize a confirmation vote date for five new members of the commission before the end of the legislative session, with NPP Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) refusing to agree to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposals to schedule the vote for July 5 on the grounds that NCC Secretary-General Jason Ho (何吉森) was yet to submit updated evidence of academic work.
He had earlier been criticized by Huang for listing himself as the author of a paper that he had only co-authored.
“If there is any delay [in the confirmation vote], it will not be the fault of the Legislative Yuan,” Huang said, adding that the Executive Yuan had failed to provide the evidence over the past two weeks.
“The sooner they send in the evidence, the sooner we can hold negotiations on when to have the confirmation vote,” he said, adding that he had been unable to locate many of the publications Ho listed as his work.
“The question is not just a matter of keeping the material up to date; there is also the possibility of fraud, which would influence a candidate’s qualifications,” NPP caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said, rejecting proposals to set the July 5 date with a proviso that a vote would be held only if the material was provided.
The NPP agreed to hold new negotiations over when to stage a vote as soon as the materials were submitted, with Kao Ming-chiu (高明秋), head of the Legislative Yuan’s conference department, saying that the Executive Yuan promised to submit the materials next week.
Reforming the commission has been a signature issue for Huang, who played a prominent role in the “anti-media monopoly” movement against Want Want China Broadband’s failed attempt to acquire cable television channels owned by China Network Systems.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS