In response to questions about the constitutionality of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) high-level policy meetings, which are attended by government officials, lawmakers and party officials, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday said that former presidents had similar approaches.
Tsai on Oct. 1 announced the High-Level Policy Coordination Meeting, at which representatives of the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan, local governments, the Democratic Progressive Party caucus and high-ranking party officials have every Monday since its launch discussed and facilitated the creation and implementation of policies.
Critics have called the meetings unconstitutional, with some saying they upset the checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) calling Tsai the “empress” behind the Cabinet.
When asked by reporters about the issue, Lin said that there should not be such a big fuss, as former presidents Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had conducted similar meetings.
“As for the call of many for revisions to related regulations in the Constitution, we respect their views,” Lin added.
The premier was also questioned about the issue during a legislative question-and-answer session, at which KMT Legislator William Tseng (曾銘宗) cited former grand justice Hsu Tzong-li’s (許宗力) remarks at a confirmation hearing for Hsu’s nomination to Judicial Yuan president that such meetings require “further consideration.”
In response to Lin saying that both former presidents had similar approaches, and that controversy has always arisen due to the nation’s semi-presidential system, Tseng said that while National Security Council meetings include officials from administrative departments, they do not involve local government officials.
The premier said that public concern does not revolve around the participation of local government heads at the meetings, but rather whether the Cabinet’s ability to make decisions has been overridden by the president.
“Now we do not have such a problem,” Lin said, adding that as premier he is responsible for decisionmaking and that policies would not be implemented without his consent.
He added that the president was democratically elected, and that Tsai too has promised and proposed policies.
“The policy coordination meeting can include officials from agencies to facilitate implementation of policies, which should not be conflated with worries about the Executive Yuan’s decisionmaking being overruled,” Lin said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
RSS