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.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS