Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday reiterated his promise to return a set of controversial reform bills to the Legislative Yuan for reconsideration, saying that the Cabinet is constitutionally obligated to do so if the new laws would be hard to enact.
Under Article 3 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution, the Cabinet can return a bill to the legislature for reconsideration within 10 days of its submission if it deems it difficult to execute.
If more than half of the total number of lawmakers uphold the original bill, the Cabinet must accept it. If they cannot reach a resolution within 15 days after the session begins, the bill becomes invalid.
Photo: CNA
Under the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法), the legislature can also invite the premier to attend the review to explain the Cabinet’s reasoning.
Speaking to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday, Cho reiterated plans to return the bills that were approved by the legislature on Tuesday.
Once the Cabinet receives the bills and determines that they are difficult to execute, it is its responsibility to return them to the legislature as mandated in the Constitution, he said.
He also voiced support for the caucus’ plan to file for a constitutional interpretation.
Writing on Facebook late on Tuesday, Cho decried the amendments, saying they infringe on constitutionally defined rights, separation of powers and the principle of legal certainty.
“The precious thing about democracy is that consensus is built through discussion and communication,” he wrote.
By sending the set of bills back, the Cabinet does not intend to exacerbate conflict, but to give the legislature another chance to scrutinize and perfect the bills, and to respond to public concerns, he said.
If the Cabinet formally returns the bills for reconsideration, it would be the 14th time in the nation’s history it has done so.
Since 2000, the Cabinet has sent six bills back to the legislature. Four were during former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) tenure, and three of them failed to pass.
Of the two returned during former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) tenure, both passed, while no bills were returned under former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
President William Lai (賴清德), speaking in his capacity as DPP chairman, said that the party respects and supports decisions by the Cabinet to return the bills and the party caucus to file for a constitutional interpretation.
Meanwhile, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) said that Lai had previously said he would be willing to give a state of the nation address at the legislature — as required in one of the reform bills — if it was conducted in a legal and constitutional manner.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun and CNA
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS