New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) yesterday obstructed the legislative review of a draft amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), citing a potential procedural flaw, while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said that the review was completely legal.
During a plenary legislative session on Friday, the amendment passed the first reading and was referred to the legislature’s Economics Committee and the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee for reviews that were scheduled to start yesterday.
However, during the joint committee review, Hsu raised a procedural objection and prevented the review.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Hsu said that committee reviews should not have begun until Tuesday next week, when a legally required reconsideration period ends.
During the period, lawmakers qualified to raise a motion for reconsideration are allowed to do so, but reviews are not allowed unless all qualified lawmakers agree to end the reconsideration period early, Hsu said.
According to the procedural rules of the Legislative Yuan, lawmakers who were present at the last review of a bill and who did not raise objection to it during the review are qualified to call for reconsideration, and the endorsement of at least 20 such lawmakers is required to pass a motion for reconsideration.
A total of 60 DPP lawmakers voted to approve the amendment during the first reading on Friday and 35 legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the NPP voted against it. Therefore, only the 60 DPP lawmakers are qualified to request reconsideration.
Because 58 of the DPP legislators signed an agreement to forfeit their reconsideration rights, the Legislative Yuan scheduled committee reviews for yesterday.
However, Hsu said the reviews were illegal unless the two remaining DPP lawmakers also signed such agreements.
“I will leave [the speaker’s podium] if the two lawmakers signed the agreement,” Hsu said as he refused to step away from the podium and prevented the review from starting.
While at the podium to delay the review, Hsu also criticized the DPP for what he said was a secret deal with the KMT over the legislation.
The DPP has agreed to shelve a draft act on the promotion of transitional justice if the KMT does not obstruct review of the amendment to the labor law, Hsu said.
The DPP caucus said the committee reviews were legitimate even without the agreement from the two DPP lawmakers, because the two could not reach the 20-people threshold if they were to request reconsideration.
The reviews were arranged in line with procedural rules and there were no irregularities, the DPP caucus said.
“Do not deny the procedural legitimacy of the review out of a sense of personal heroism,” said DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), who was to chair the reviews yesterday.
Following an 11-hour standoff, the review eventually started at 8pm after DPP lawmakers forcefully removed Hsu from the podium.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
Chinese embassy staffers attempted to interrupt an award ceremony of an international tea competition in France when the organizer introduced Taiwan and displayed the Republic of China flag, a Taiwanese tea farmer said in an interview published today. Hsieh Chung-lin (謝忠霖), chief executive of Juxin Tea Factory from Taichung's Lishan (梨山) area, on Dec. 2 attended the Teas of the World International Contest held at the Peruvian embassy in Paris. Hsieh was awarded a special prize for his Huagang Snow Source Tea by the nonprofit Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA). During the ceremony, two Chinese embassy staffers in attendance
RSS