The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucuses yesterday reached a compromise on the ongoing extraordinary legislative session, with the two sides agreeing to cut the session by six days and that it would only deal with general budget bills and two other draft amendments.
The DPP caucus initially planned to hold the extraordinary session from yesterday through Jan. 26, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve, but agreed to shorten the session to Jan. 20 after a meeting with other party caucuses yesterday morning.
The meeting came after no consensus was reached during cross-party negotiations on Wednesday to set the special session’s agenda.
Photo: CNA
The number of legislative items the DPP caucus originally intended to handle in the extraordinary session was also cut from seven to three, which include the general budget, as well as amendments to the Electricity Act (電業法) and the Long-term Care Services Act (長期照顧服務法).
The nomination of former minister of the interior Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) as Examination Yuan vice president, a draft governing preschool educators, a draft for encouraging the rebuilding of old and condemned buildings, and draft amendments to the Securities Transaction Tax Act (證券交易稅條例) were all removed from the agenda.
The Executive Yuan had hoped to see draft amendments to the Securities Transaction Tax Act — which seeks to cut the transaction tax on day trading from 0.003 percent to 0.0015 percent to stimulate the stock market — clear the legislative floor during the extraordinary session.
After cross-party negotiations, Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said a consensus had been made that the next legislative session is to begin on Feb. 17, when Premier Lin Chuan (林全) and other Cabinet members would be invited to deliver their policy report.
Lee’s nomination will also be dealt with shortly after the next session starts, Su said.
The agenda changes were made after strong opposition from the KMT caucus, which insisted that only the general budget and urgent legislative items be addressed at the special session.
It has threatened to filibuster the session by submitting 4,000 motions to slash or freeze the general budget for next year.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said he had worried that the special session would last until Jan. 26 and that the KMT caucus’ tactics could delay review of the general budget.
“The outcome [yesterday] is extremely successful. From conflict to compromise to improvement, this is the new legislature and it is how I hope the future legislature would function,” Ker said.
KMT caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) said the reason they were able to reach a consensus was because all parties respected and took into account each other’s opinions and stances.
“Due to the limited time, the DPP agreed to the KMT’s request that a review of the general budget should start tomorrow [today]... Maybe the KMT’s proposed motions would be reduced quickly so that all items listed on the agenda could be dealt with during the special session,” Sufin said.
The compromise means the Executive Yuan’s securities transaction tax and urban renewal measures — two priority bills considered essential to revive the economy — will not be reviewed until the next legislative session.
Lin said that he respected the Legislative Yuan’s decision to postpone the review despite a prior agreement between the Cabinet and legislators on the agenda of the extraordinary session.
“The Executive Yuan has submitted bills believed to be agreed on. We submitted the tax cut proposal only after an understanding was reached among legislators across party lines,” Lin said.
However, the Cabinet respects the final decision of the legislature, which has to make its judgement according to the political climate, he added.
Additional Reporting by Chen Wei-han
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS