The legislative agenda was stalled yesterday by cross-party negotiation over the structure of the committee review of drafts for the much-anticipated oversight mechanism for cross-strait agreements.
The legislative floor meeting in Taipei was adjourned at noon without reaching the third reading of scores of bills on the agenda, including a motion to reconsider the decision to refer the oversight bills to the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administrative Committee for review.
The reconsideration was deferred, a decision made in cross-party talks yesterday. If the reconsideration were put to a floor vote, it would be expected to pass, with the majority of legislative seats held by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which could then have KMT Legislator Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠), one of the committee conveners, preside over the review of the oversight bills next week.
The opposition parties and the KMT have engaged in a tug-of-war for months over who is to preside over the Internal Administration Committee meeting that is set to review the oversight mechanism draft bills.
Chang, who has been nicknamed “Half-Minute Chung (半分忠)” for his 30-second attempt to ram through the cross-strait service trade agreement in his capacity as committee convener in March last year, which helped trigger the Sunflower movement, has been re-elected as one of the two internal administrative committee conveners for this session.
Opposed to Chang’s chairing the committee meeting, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus on Friday last week had proposed reconsidering referring the bills to the committee to have the DPP’s committee convener to preside over the meeting in the week that followed.
The motion was vetoed by the KMT, which again placed the reconsideration motion on the top of yesterday’s legislative discussion agenda.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) on Tuesday accused the KMT of “scheming to have Chang to preside the review of the oversight bills.”
“‘Half-Minute Chung’ might very well become ‘Half-Day Chung,’ who would rush through the review of the bills in half a day,” Chou said.
The TSU caucus was said to have planned to boycott the floor meeting by proposing at least 200 agenda changes yesterday if the KMT refused to hold cross-party negotiations.
KMT deputy caucus whip Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟) said the KMT has made concessions, agreeing to have another KMT legislator to substitute for Chang as the chair for the review and to take turns with the DPP caucus in presiding over reviews. A consensus has been reached between the KMT and the DPP, he said, with the TSU as the only objector.
“Insofar as the KMT is the ruling party, it would not be possible for the party to give up the right to preside over the review,” Liao said.
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Academics have expressed mixed views on President William Lai’s (賴清德) nomination of High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Tsai Chiu-ming (蔡秋明) as a Constitutional Court justice and the head of the nation’s top judicial body. While prosecutors have served as justices at the Constitutional Court over the years, including Judy Ju (朱富美), an incumbent, the appointment of a prosecutor as president of the Judicial Yuan, which presides over the Constitutional Court, would be unprecedented. Retired law professor Lin Teng-yao (林騰鷂) said that Tsai’s nomination was an “abuse” of power by Lai, and called on the legislature, in which the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
RSS