The legislature yesterday refused to take up a proposal to turn PFP lawmaker Diane Lee (
DPP Legislator Peter Lin (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"The bill will be set aside due to protest [from PFP lawmakers]," ruled Vice Legislative Speaker Chiang Ping-kun (
Under legislative rules, opposition from a single lawmaker suffices to block the introduction of any extraordinary bills.
Lin said he would ask his colleagues to endorse his initiative and file it through regular procedures next week.
"The legislature will have trouble defending its decision today if the court finds Lee guilty of libel later," he said.
Earlier, Twu, acting head of the Department of Health, filed libel suits against Lee and her constituent Cheng Ko-jung (
The two had mistakenly accused Twu of making forceful sexual advances on Cheng during a KTV party on Aug. 6.
Lin said he will carry on with the campaign to punish Lee and her PFP colleague Yang Fu-mei (
Yang said she could not provide any evidence of the sexual encounter as she learned of it through the grapevine.
TSU lawmaker Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said that malignant rumormongers such as Lee and Yang should be punished. He noted that the legislature stood behind Lee when she was physically attacked by former independent colleague Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) in March last year.
"Lo Fu-chu was later suspended from the legislature for six months. Now Lee should face the consequences of her mistake in a gracious manner," the TSU legislator said.
Lee, while apologetic, has showed no intention of stepping down in the face or pressure to do so.
She did not make any public appearances yesterday. Aides said she was making preparations for a court hearing today.
Observers say it is unlikely for the legislature to adopt any disciplinary measures against Lee, as her party and the KMT have vowed to kill any such proposal.
Together, the two caucuses enjoy a slight edge, 19-17, in the Procedure Committee where the legislative calendar is decided.
PFP Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華), elder brother of Diane Lee, said his sister, gripped by a deep sense of guilt, has slept very little for the past week. He called on her critics to be forgiving, saying his sister is generally recognized as one of Taiwan's best lawmakers.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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