TSU and DPP lawmakers yesterday demanded PFP Legislator Diane Lee (
The four-day-long soap opera began with Lee accusing Twu of kissing restaurant proprietor Cheng Ko-jung (
But TSU lawmakers say they consider Lee's apology to be insufficient punishment and urged her to resign.
"Although Lee made the apology, she is not remorseful for what she has done," said TSU Legislator Liao Pen-yen (
He pointed out that the job of lawmakers is to monitor, not to vilify, officials.
"Lee collaborated with the media to hand down the verdict before a trial was held. Her modus operandi has not been halted," Liao said.
Liao said lawmakers such as Lee have provoked commotion in society because they have often launched groundless accusations in order to raise their own level of exposure in the media.
In March 2000, after the KMT lost the presidential election, former New Party lawmakers Elmer Fung (
In September 2000, PFP Legislator Chin Huei-chu (秦慧珠) accused President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of having received US$5 million in financial aid from China during his presidential campaign.
On April 2 this year, PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
Following the confirmation hearings for the Examination Yuan's president in June, KMT Legislator Lee Chia-chin (
Liao said none of these allegations have proven to be true and that the purpose of these pan-blue lawmakers obviously was to attack the government.
DPP Legislator Peter Lin (林進興) suggested that the legislature's
Discipline Committee chastise Lee in the event that she does not resign.
Sharing the view of other pan-green camp legislators, Lin said Lee's apology was not sufficient to return justice to Twu, whose reputation he says was greatly smudged by Lee and Cheng's allegations.
"The Discipline Committee must mete out some sort of penalty," Lin said.
According to the Legislative Yuan's regulations, the Discipline Committee can request that a lawmaker committing an improper act offer an apology and/or face a three-to-six-month suspension, depending on the gravity of their wrongdoing.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central