The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will support holding an extraordinary legislative session, party officials said yesterday, although they signaled caution about whether they would approve the government's annual budget request.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) favors holding an extra legislative session, but he may not focus on the government's annual budget request during the session, KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said.
Friday was the last day of the fourth legislative session. The legislature was paralyzed after the KMT attempted to pass an amendment to the Organic Law of the Central Election Commission (中央選舉委員會組織法).
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vehemently opposed the move, saying it undermined the constitutional system. The DPP instead tried to review the budget bill, without success.
The KMT's proposed Central Election Commission (CEC) amendment would wrest control of CEC appointments from the Executive Yuan, requiring the commission's members to be appointed along partisan lines, in proportion to the number of legislative seats held by each party.
Because of the constitutional spat, no bills were passed during the final session, including the annual budget.
It was the first time in the legislature's history that the central government's annual budget remained stalled, despite the fact that the year the budget covered had begun.
If the legislature is to approve funds for the operation of the government this year, an extra legislative session is necessary.
Su yesterday said that Ma still thinks the CEC amendment should be discussed prior to the budget bill.
The People First Party (PFP), however, said yesterday it was opposed to holding an extra session altogether.
PFP Legislator Hwang Yih-jiau (
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said his party would discuss a strategy for the extra session with the Taiwan Solidarity Union.
The two caucuses would initiate a proposal on whether to hold an extended session if they could reach a consensus on the priority of the bills, he said.
Meanwhile, Premier Su Tseng-chang (
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS