A request has been issued to withdraw a proposal by the Control Yuan’s National Human Rights Commission regarding members’ powers on grounds that it goes against previous Legislative Yuan decisions and is unconstitutional, sources said on Friday.
The commission was established following passage of the Organic Act of the Control Yuan National Human Rights Commission (監察院國家人權委員會組織法) on Dec. 10 last year.
The Control Yuan in September tendered the bill for review by the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
The proposal was that the commission, following a Control Yuan resolution, would be able to apply to the Judicial Yuan for a constitutional interpretation should it find laws that are unconstitutional because they severely infringe on human rights.
At a committee meeting last month, Judicial Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Yeh Li-hsia (葉麗霞) said that the bill would grant the commission powers to ask for constitutional interpretations, an expansion of the Control Yuan’s powers that directly contravenes its role and might itself be unconstitutional.
The bill stipulated that the commission would be able to impeach or denounce individuals who refuse to comply with its investigations, and fine individuals, companies or groups up to NT$500,000 for each failure to comply.
Commission members late last month met with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus members to explain the bill.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told the meeting that he believes clauses of the bill risk breaching human rights and being unconstitutional, sources said.
Later on Friday, Ker told reporters that the request to withdraw the draft stemmed from a Legislative Yuan addendum during the passage of the organic act that to properly grant commission members such powers, the Control Yuan should amend the Control Act (監察法).
The addendum was adhered to by then-Control Yuan president Chang Po-ya (張博雅), but ignored by Chen Chu (陳菊), who assumed the post in June, which made the request to withdraw the bill necessary, Ker said.
The Constitution has delineated the powers of Control Yuan members — issuing corrective notices, and impeaching or recalling officials — which does not include the draft’s request for the ability to seek constitutional interpretations, he said.
An opinion piece in yesterday’s edition of the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) said it was unsurprising that the proposal was rebuked.
The draft ignored the legislature’s clear addendum to regulate the commission’s powers via the Control Act, the author wrote.
The power to apply for constitutional interpretations would give commission members a direct channel to the Council of Grand Justices, an ability that could easily be abused, they wrote.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it