Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sandy Yeh (葉毓蘭) yesterday proposed amendments to the Legislators’ Conduct Act (立法委員行為法) to limit the power of police to constrain the personal freedom of lawmakers when in session at the Legislative Yuan.
The proposal comes after physical altercations involving KMT lawmakers who tried to block the nomination process of Control Yuan members in July.
KMT leaders had accused Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) of the Democratic Progressive Party of authorizing excessive police force to protect then-Control Yuan presidential nominee Chen Chu (陳菊), saying that involving the police had led to obstructions of their personal freedom and legislative duties.
Photo: CNA
Yeh proposed the amendments to outline strict rules on the use of police force inside the parliament.
“When police officers limit legislators’ movements and personal freedom, disrupting their legislative duties within the parliamentary grounds, severe punishment must be imposed, with sentences being 50 percent higher than usual. This proposed draft will be submitted next Tuesday,” Yeh said.
Prior to 1991, police had been deployed inside the Legislative Yuan six times, but they had no legal authorization, Yeh said, adding that police had not been deployed for the past 20 years, until July 14 this year.
Photo: CNA
“While legislators were to conduct a review of Control Yuan nominees, legislative top officials called for a large police force to enter the parliament and protect Chen Chu,” she said. “The police action undermined the Legislative Yuan’s independence, setting a deplorable precedent in violating the constitutional framework.”
“In France, Germany, Japan, the UK, the US and other democratic countries, they adhere to the constitutional codes and parliamentary rules,” she added.
Referring to Article 3 of the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法), which stipulates that the legislative speaker must maintain order and conduct legislative proceedings on the basis of fairness and objectivity, Yeh said that there are no provisions granting the speaker the right to deploy the police.
The authority to deploy the police should be limited to maintaining order and removing obstacles to legislative proceedings, she said, adding that “the rules must guarantee the independence and self-governance of the Legislative Yuan.”
“When obstructions to the proceedings occur, legislators across party lines must try to solve the problem within one day, conforming to the self-governance principle of the Legislative Yuan,” Yeh said.
Other than the Sixth Special Police Corps and one security police squadron at the Legislative Yuan, other police units should be in general prohibited from entering the parliament grounds, Yeh added.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS