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.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS