The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is to hold policy meetings with top officials every Monday to replace the suspended weekly meeting of “the committee of five,” the Presidential Office said yesterday.
KMT caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) will attend the policy meetings as a representative of the legislative branch.
The change comes after improper lobbying allegations against Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) led the KMT to revoke his membership.
Under Ma’s instructions, the KMT revoked Wang’s membership earlier this month over the allegations and filed an appeal against Wang after the Taipei District Court ruled in favor of him when he sought an injuction to retain his membership.
Meetings of the “committee of five,” of which Wang was a member, have been suspended since the Taipei District Court ruled in favor of Wang’s provisional injunction seeking to retain his party membership and position as head of the legislature.
The decision to form another weekly meeting without Wang is seen as another move to alienate him and the KMT faction he leads.
The five members in the policy meeting will be President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), KMT Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) and Lin.
Presidential Office spokesperson Li Chia-fei (李佳霏) said Ma will not make any compromises regarding Wang’s alleged involvement in improper lobbying for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cauces whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), and the administration will make adjustments to decision-making meetings that Wang had been a member of.
“It is our unchanged stance that the administration will continue pushing forth policies while proceeding with the lawsuit,” she said,
“Except for activities under the constitutional structure, we will make necessary adjustments to meetings [that Wang had been participating in],” she said.
The first party policy meeting is to be held today in the Presidential Office, to discuss major bills in the legislature and government policies as the office seeks to enhance communication with the legislative branch, Li said.
The political rift between Ma and Wang has shown no signs of being repaired, despite offers from senior KMT members including, former KMT chairmen Lien Chan (連戰) and Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), to resolve the dispute in the interest of party unity.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday voiced his support for the new weekly meeting and said the decision to replace Wang with Lin is feasible and will strengthen the communication between the administrative and legislative branches.
WHAT WAS ALL THAT FOR? Jaw Shaw-kong said that Cheng Li-wen had pushed for more drastic cuts and attacked him, just for the outcome to be nearly identical to his bill The legislature yesterday passed a supplementary budget bill to fund the purchase of separate packages of US military equipment, with the combined amount of spending capped at NT$780 billion (US$24.8 billion). The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their legislative majority to pass the bill, which runs until 2033 and has two main funding provisions. One was for NT$300 billion of arms sales already approved by the US for Taiwan on Dec. 17 last year, the other was for NT$480 billion for another arms package expected to be announced by Washington. The bill, which fell short of the NT$1.25
Taiwanese shares yesterday posted a record daily gain of more than 1,700 points to close above 40,000 points for the first time, led by large-cap semiconductor stocks such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) amid optimism about the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The TAIEX ended up 1,778.51 points, or 4.57 percent, at 40,705.14 after moving between 39,228.39 and 40,755.52, while the New Taiwan dollar closed up NT$0.038 at NT$31.610 per US dollar, ending three consecutive sessions of declines. Turnover on the main board totaled NT$1.007 trillion (US$31.9 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$66.98 billion
A former television news host and six military personnel — active and retired — have been indicted on espionage charges, Kaohsiung prosecutors said yesterday. Lin Chen-you (林宸佑), a former CTi News host and YouTuber, last year allegedly made videos at the direction of a Chinese agent criticizing the Democratic Progressive Party’s recall campaign, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office told a news conference in Kaohsiung. He allegedly received 4,325 tether coins for the videos from an unidentified person surnamed Huang (黃), believed to be an agent of a hostile foreign power, they said. Lin, also known as Ma Te (馬德), has a show named
NON-INTERFERENCE: The US called Taiwan a trusted and capable partner, while an African Union leader urged nations to reflect on respect for sovereign choices Taiwan is a “trusted and capable” partner of the US and Taipei’s global relationships, including with Eswatini, provide significant benefits, the US Department of State said of President William Lai’s (賴清德) trip to the southern African kingdom. Lai arrived in the former Swaziland on Saturday on a surprise visit after a planned trip last month was canceled when Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar denied overflight permission for his aircraft due to Chinese pressure. “Taiwan is a trusted and capable partner of the United States and many others, and its relationships around the world provide significant benefits to the citizens of those countries,
RSS