The new legislative session is to open on Friday next week, with the date set after Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) yesterday convened a cross-party negotiation, with COVID-19 vaccinations, pig industry funding and constitutional amendments, including lowering the voting age, expected to become the main issues.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and his Cabinet are to brief lawmakers and answer questions about preparations the government has made for administering COVID-19 vaccines and setting up a pig farming industry development fund when the new session starts.
During the negotiation process, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said that Executive Yuan officials should explain the budget plan for public vaccinations and pig industry funding, as these are urgent issues and need legislative oversight.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The KMT caucus suggested that the premier give a briefing on these issues when the new session begins, followed by a general policy briefing on March 2, she said.
New Power Party deputy caucus whip Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) and Taiwan People’s Party deputy caucus whip Ann Kao (高虹安) seconded the motion.
Chen said that inviting Cabinet officials to give a briefing as soon as the new session begins would help them when they explain government policies to the electorate in their districts.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that he supported the KMT’s motion and hoped that this would be the beginning for the parties to form rational conversations and build a new culture.
Among the 43 proposed constitutional amendments, a bill to lower the voting age to 18 has the largest support among parties, You said on Wednesday.
“Political parties all have issues that they are advocating, and have submitted proposals to amend the Constitution, but only the bill on lowering the age of majority to 18 has general support among parties,” You said.
Many countries already recognize 18 as the legal age when people get the right to vote, and Taiwan should follow suit, he added.
The age of majority is 18 in 110 countries, but the Republic of China Constitution of 1947 fixed it at 20.
Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲), a former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator, yesterday said he supported lowering the voting age to 18.
The threshold to amend the Constitution is high, and obtaining consensus is difficult, he said, adding that if this proposal is blocked, then people would know which party had their own political motives for doing so.
Separately, DPP Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) is heading up an effort to make the president’s and legislators’ terms in office parallel, and holding their elections at the same time.
“The worldwide trend is for a nation’s presidential election to be held at the same time as those of legislators. It conserves resources and reduces conflict in society. The current system has the president and legislators start their terms at different times,” Kuo said. “When a president is not re-elected, we end up with an interim period of up to four months, without political leadership and guidance for the government.”
Kuo’s proposed amendment would have the president and legislators assume their offices and finish their terms at the same time.
“It will require changing the legislative sessions for March to June and September to December,” he said. “To maintain a balance of power between the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan, the amendment would remove the president’s authority to dissolve the legislature, while also curtailing the legislature’s power to bring a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet.”
Kuo said that the DPP has proposed that the next terms for president and legislators end in February 2028, and from that year on their starting terms would run parallel.
The party also has submitted a proposal to add 34 more at-large seats to the legislature, which would expand the total number of seats from 113 to 147.
In other developments, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) on Wednesday said that mechanisms are being set up for the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan and legislative caucusese to deal with proposed amendments to the Constitution and to handle cross-party negotiations.
The DPP has formed a working group to coordinate the effort, DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) said.
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