The new legislative session is to begin on Feb. 15, with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) to give an administrative report and field questions from lawmakers.
Lawmakers reported for the new legislative session yesterday, although it is to officially open in two weeks.
Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said he hopes to amend laws to impose heavier penalties for child abuse in the wake of a series of cases involving physical and psychological abuse of children.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Lawmakers have prioritized such amendments, Su said.
Amendments aimed at boosting economic growth might also be given priority, depending on their urgency, he said.
Two newly elected lawmakers, Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Shen Jhih-hwei (沈智慧) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), took their oaths of office yesterday.
Ho took the seat left vacant by the DPP’s Yao Wen-chih (姚文智), who resigned to contest the Taipei mayoral election, which Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), won in the local elections in November last year.
Shen filled the vacancy left by Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) of the KMT, who resigned as a legislator on Nov. 20 last year before winning on Nov. 24.
The two legislative sessions each year — from February to the end of May and from September to the end of December — begin with a month or more of question-and-answer sessions.
During this time, the premier reports to the legislature, often with ministers to help answer questions related to their offices.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
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