The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus said yesterday that it would "reluctantly" agree to call a special legislative session if the flood-control plan was the only issue to be tackled during the session.
"Extraordinary legislative sessions should be treated as a sacred matter. They should not be held unless absolutely necessary," said KMT Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), executive director of the party's Central Policy Committee.
Tseng, however, said that the caucus would agree to hold a special session if all the legislative caucuses agree that the eight-year, NT$80 billion flood-control plan would be the only bill up for consideration.
As Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"Our stance on the matter is clear," Tseng said. "We're concerned about people's livelihoods and we don't like to maneuver issues, especially political ones."
KMT caucus whip Cho Po-yuan (
Another KMT caucus whip, Legislator Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), asked DPP caucus to explain the government's flood-control plan in more detail during Friday's informal plenary talk, where the caucuses will decide whether to hold the special session.
"We won't agree to a special session if they don't provide us with details," she said.
The KMT caucus is drawing up its own flood-control bill in case a special session is held.
Meanwhile, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said there are many important bills waiting to be addressed besides the flood plan.
"The earlier the legislature passes such important bills as the arms-procurement budget and draft amendments to the Tobacco and Wine Law (菸酒稅法), the less of a burden on the people, although it is up to the legislature to decide what bills it wants to screen," he said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Lai Ching-te (
Lai said the opposition's criticism of the government's flood-control package demonstrated their ignorance, and was simply part of a bellicose strategy.
People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Sun Ta-chen (
Sun said the DPP should not try to split the pan-blue camp in the legislature, because his caucus was determined to fight alongside the KMT against the pan-green alliance.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
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The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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