Opposition lawmakers yesterday lambasted the government's plan to auction off a 3 percent stake in Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) next week and threatened to boycott the special legislative session proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus.
They may also indefinitely postpone the upcoming regular legislative session slated for Sept. 13, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) said yesterday.
"What the government does is savage," Tsai said.
"They totally ignore decisions made by the legislature. What is the point of having legislative meetings when the executive branch ignores the decisions we make?" he asked.
Tsai made the remarks after the opposition-dominated legislature passed a resolution in May to ban all activities of the state-owned company's share-sales plans, both domestically and abroad.
He yesterday charged that the government is "100 percent" in collusion with business conglomerates by defying the lawmaking body's decisions.
Tsai, however, said that he would agree to Chunghwa Tele-com's disposal of its stakes if it was willing to sign a group contract with its 28,000 employees to ensure their best interests and agree to sell its stake to private owners rather than conglomerates.
Tsai said that he is in favor of privatizing the state-owned company, but the company's shares have to go to the public, not to conglomerates nor through an American Depositary Receipts (ADR) issue.
In a bid to stop Chunghwa Tele-com from selling stocks through an ADR issue, Tsai, with the endorsement of over 100 lawmakers, filed an application for a constitutional interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices on July 15.
The applicants also requested that the Grand Justices issue an emergency ruling to halt the Chunghwa Telecom shares disposal plan before a final constitutional decision is made. Their request, however, was overruled last Friday.
People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) criticized the government's move as in "contempt" of the legislature's power, and threatened to cut the Ministry of Transportation and Communications' annual budget.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus whip Mark Ho (
"Regardless of whether the legislative resolution is controversial, the executive branch should have respect for the legislature's joint decision," he said.
"The DPP government should brace itself for a substantial cut in its annual budget during the upcoming legislative session," he said.
A ministry specialist, who asked to remain anonymous, argued that the legislature's resolution does not apply to the case.
"While the resolution was made in May this year, the budgets earmarked for the release of Chung-hwa Telecom's shares were for 2000 and 2001, both approved by the legislature at the time," he said.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS