The Executive Yuan yesterday said its appointment of new directors to the Central Election Commission was legal, following criticism that the appointment was made without being discussed in a formal Cabinet meeting.
The Executive Yuan on Wednesday submitted a request to the Legislative Yuan to appoint National Central University law professor Chen In-chin (陳英鈐) and Taichung Legal Affairs Bureau Director Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) as the commission’s new chairman and vice chairman respectively.
The request was submitted three months before the incumbent chairman’s and vice chairman’s terms end on Nov. 3. However, the request was met with criticism as it was submitted to the legislature without being discussed in a Cabinet meeting, raising concerns that the Cabinet was acting outside the law.
According to the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Yuan (行政院會議議事規則), Cabinet decisions that require legislative approval must first be passed in an Executive Yuan meeting before being submitted to the Legislative Yuan.
Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said that only draft laws, budget proposals and international agreements have to be passed in Cabinet meetings before submission; the rule does not apply to the appointment of officials to independent government agencies.
“It has been a long-time practice that the appointment of independent agency officials, such as those of the National Communications Commission, the Fair Trade Commission and the Central Election Commission, does not have to be discussed in Executive Yuan meetings,” Hsu said.
Previously, appointments to the agencies were approved by the premier without being deliberated in a Cabinet meeting, he said.
“The media might ask if we could discuss and approve the appointments in a meeting. We certainly can, but it is not legally required,” he said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has criticized the appointment of Chen In-chin for his perceived pro-Democratic Progressive Party bent, saying that this might affect a planned restructuring of the nation’s electoral districts.
The electoral districts are rezoned every 10 years according to population changes, and according to the commission’s estimates, Kaohsiung and Pingtung might each lose a legislative seat, while Tainan and Hsinchu would each gain one.
‘NEVER!’ Taiwan FactCheck Center said it had only received donations from the Open Society Foundations, which supports nonprofits that promote democratic values Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has never received any donation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a cofounder of the organization wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. The Taipei-based organization was established in 2018 by Taiwan Media Watch Foundation and the Association of Quality Journalism to monitor and verify news and information accuracy. It was officially registered as a foundation in 2021. National Chung Cheng University communications professor Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a cofounder and chairman of TFC, was responding to online rumors that the TFC receives funding from the US government’s humanitarian assistance agency via the Open Society Foundations (OSF),
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights