Lawmakers are expected to begin debating draft amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) regarding a clause defining and limiting “agents of the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]” in the new legislative session.
The Legislative Yuan holds two regular sessions per year — the first from February to May and the second from September to December.
The legislative caucuses are to hold negotiations today to decide when the new session is to begin.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗), the first lawmaker to sign in for the new session yesterday, said that the KMT caucus would prioritize policies to ameliorate low wages, encourage youth entrepreneurship and promote measures to rectify and compensate people affected by the government’s pension reforms.
The Council of Grand Justices on Aug. 23 ruled as unconstitutional the regulations banning retired academics from receiving pensions if they find employment at a private university.
KMT Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) said he would prioritize allocating more budget for local infrastructure and construction projects, adding that he would look into amending the changes to pension payments.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) said his party caucus would prioritize amendments to the cross-strait relations act.
“We must face the issue, as it could affect our democracy, freedoms and national security,” he said, adding that the Chinese government is trying to undermine Taiwan’s democracy by using pro-Chinese media and funding during elections.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said that lawmakers across party lines should discuss how to completely block China and prevent any kind of Chinese influence in Taiwan.
The amendments are urgently needed, DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said, but added that the distinction between legal and illegal behavior should be unequivocally stated to prevent the law from limiting freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
The KMT is against the proposed amendment, as it would violate freedom of speech and journalistic freedoms, and would place millions of Taiwanese businesspeople at risk of litigation, Tseng said.
Taiwan should back Hong Kong, as it might very well share the same fate, Chen Ou-po said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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