Pan-blue legislators continued their opposition to President Chen Shui-bian's (
Aboriginal Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟) was indignant about the lack of representation of Aboriginals on the list, saying that when Control Yuan member Chen Jinn-lih (陳進利) ends his tenure, there will be no Aboriginal members at all.
Liao yesterday said he would lead Aboriginal legislators in rejecting any list of nominations unless Chen included Aboriginal people.
Meanwhile. Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), executive director of the KMT's central policy committee, accused Chen of playing games in saying that he wanted input from all political parties on the nominations, but then failing to get in contact with the KMT or the People First Party (PFP) after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) turned down his approach.
KMT legislative whip Huang Teh-fu (
He added that the opposition had on different occasions questioned the suitability of Nita Ing (
PFP legislative whip Liu Wen-hsiung (
Liu said that although some of the names on the list were acceptable, the present nominations would result in a Control Yuan that could not be effective in its work as a watchdog.
He stopped short of rejecting the list outright, saying that this would be unfair to more worthy nominees. He said the PFP would discuss the issue with the KMT later, but in the meantime the PFP would not cooperate with the pan green camp on the issue.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The nominations were delivered to the Legislative Yuan on Monday, and Wang convened negotiations the following day. But they broke down owing to pan-blue-camp dissatisfaction with the DPP over amendments to the March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee Statute (三一九槍擊事件真相調查特別委員會條例).
Additional reporting by Debby Wu
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS