DPP lawmakers yesterday proposed to penalize PFP Legislators Diane Lee (
Lawmakers from the pan-green camp have turned out in force to defend Twu, saying both of the PFP lawmakers deserved to be chastised for launching accusations before getting any verification of the story.
The scandal began with Lee accusing Twu of forcibly kissing restaurant proprietor Cheng Ko-jung (
After the story broke, Yang said a cleaning lady claimed to have witnessed Twu having sexual relations with female colleagues at the office, but provided no evidence.
When asked by the media later on, Yang back-peddled, saying the accusations were "based on hearsay."
DPP Legislator Chiu Yung-jen (
What makes the matter worse, he added, is that Yang is not remorseful for her irresponsible conduct, which has made the entire legislature suffer from the shame.
DPP Legislator Peter Lin (林進興) said that by initiating the motion, he would like to raise a warning: That is, he wants to warn lawmakers that they must not make reckless accusations and point fingers before solid evidence is found.
Lin said the proposal will be passed at the procedural committee today, and will be handed into the discipline committee for further review.
Despite of the apologies by Lee and Cheng, Twu has decided to file a lawsuit against the two accusers as well as media outlets that had failed to report impartially during the incident.
Disagreeing with part of the public opinions, which called upon Twu to show mercy on the two and withdraw the case, DPP Legislators Julian Kuo (
They argued it would be helpful to society if Twu called off the case, only if he insisted the trial would teach people to realize the importance to discipline their freedom of speech.
TSU lawmakers yesterday reached an agreement to initiate the proposals to limit lawmakers' powers of immunity and to halve their salaries.
TSU legislators said the public is fed up with lawmakers abusing their freedom of speech.
That's why the party feels the urgency to reduce the number of legislators. The party also wants to cut legislators' paychecks in half to prevent more social resources from being wasted by lawmakers.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,