Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) yesterday defended the party’s proposal to introduce special guards in the legislature to maintain order, saying the system would prevent fistfights and other clashes among legislators from damaging the nation’s reputation.
“There are too many violent clashes in the legislature, which damages the nation’s reputation abroad ... We looked into effective measures used in the US and Europe, and the proposal is still under discussion,” King said yesterday in Chiayi County.
King said the proposal was presented last week by KMT think tank member Stephen Chen (陳錫藩), a former representative to the US. In the US, a Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeepers maintain order in the Senate.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, supports the idea of having special guards replace the legislature’s use of the police to intervene when violent clashes occur, and asked the think tank and the party to study the possibility of establishing such a mechanism in the legislature, King said.
“In a democratic society, the minority should abide by the majority. Legislators from the opposition parties should not occupy the podium even if negotiations break down,” he said.
King was referring to repeated violent clashes in the legislature — the most recent on Monday — when the KMT legislative caucus pushed through a disputed amendment to the Local Government Act (地方制度法) during an extra legislative session amid fistfights, yelling, shouting and pushing.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators occupied the podium in an attempt to block Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) from entering the building, while the KMT mobilized its legislators to escort Wang to the speaker’s podium.
King condemned the opposition for using violence on the legislative floor, and said the KMT’s latest TV commercial, which featured the fistfights and violent clashes, highlighted the opposition party’s “irrationality” and use of violence.
King said the KMT was still studying the proposal and would address the legislature on the issue.
DPP caucus whip Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) said yesterday that King’s proposal suggested he didn’t trust Wang and said that King could want to weaken Wang’s authority.
DPP Policy Committee chief executive Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the idea of setting up a law enforcement system “would belittle the legislature’s autonomy.”
Wang and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) were non-committal about the idea yesterday.
Wang told reporters that discussing special guards without first gaining a consensus on whether to entitle the speaker to use police power to maintain order within the legislature was like “putting the cart before the horse.”
Wang said that any special guard would have to take orders from the speaker or follow resolutions passed by the legislature rather than acting upon his own discretion.
The legislature is an autonomous institution where self-discipline is exercised, Wang said, adding: “Once the speaker is given the right to call upon the police to maintain order on the floor, there will be people available to enforce the speakers’ orders.”
Wang has said several times before that coercive power would not end legislative boycotts.
“The situation we have is different from other countries. [When scuffles break out,] there are not just two or three people involved, but dozens,” Wang said.
Wang, however, said he would be happy to see a statutory rule allowing the use of police power on the legislative floor, saying that it could be used “just in case.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Wang dismissed speculation by the DPP that King proposed the idea to weaken his power as speaker, saying those who suggested so “have an overzealous imagination.”
Approached by reporters in Nantou County, Wu said the proposal was “based on good intentions” and “had nothing to do with authoritarianism” as alleged by the DPP.
Wu said that he respected the legislature’s position on whether to implement the system.
“The precondition would be that lawmakers reach a consensus on this,” he said.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) agreed with Wang, saying that lawmakers should first deliberate an amendment to the Legislators’ Conduct Act (立法委員行為法) on the speaker’s rights to call in the police.
KMT legislative caucus whip Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said that the caucus was open to public discussion on the issue, but he preferred thorough debates on all controversial issues on the legislative floor rather than using police power in the process of legislation.
Later last night after a gathering between Ma and KMT lawmakers, KMT Legislator Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠) told reporters that Wang had given Ma and the legislators copies of a research paper on legislative law enforcement systems in various countries.
Ma did not give his opinion on the issue, Chang said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
RSS