The Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) powers are being normalized and its head has been granted extraordinary powers without a legal basis, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affiliated National Policy Foundation said yesterday, adding that the center’s authority should be temporary.
Former legislator Arthur Chen (陳宜民), a member of the foundation, said that the Legislative Yuan had nearly no control over the NT$840 billion (US$30.15 billion) set aside for a COVID-19 relief fund, while the only entity with any ability to oversee the CECC’s activity is the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.
As pandemic prevention measures have become the norm, the government is obligated to introduce legislative measures to provide a valid basis for what were previously emergency measures, Chen told an online forum hosted by the foundation.
Foundation representative Chien Jung-tsung (簡榮宗) said that Article 7 of the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例) gives the CECC’s head tremendous power via legislative processes of uncertain validity.
Moreover, it is to be determined whether the CECC’s “electronic fence” — a location tracking program that uses a mobile app to ensure that people who are quarantined remain in permitted places — and its SMS location log in system breach privacy rights, Chien said.
Article 7 of the act is more powerful than an emergency executive order issued by the president, he said, adding that such measures should not be allowed to persist and legislation should be required for the CECC to be allowed to wield such power.
Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲), an associate professor of law at National Tsing Hua University’s Institute of Law for Science and Technology, said that Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, has great power, but his position should still yield to democratic principles.
Measures that infringe upon the public’s rights should be backed up by legislation, Weng said.
In other countries, legislation is required to enforce mask-wearing, but in Taiwan, an administrative order issued by the CECC was sufficient, she said.
Lawmakers must demand that all measures adopted by the CECC be supported by special legislation, she said.
Taipei City Councilor Chang Shi-gang (張斯綱) said that the ministry, the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration would function without difficulty should the CECC be abolished.
The ministry should not be given the authority to decide on all things related to the pandemic, as this exceeds its mandate, Chang said.
As COVID-19 infections have rapidly declined, the government should return to normal operations and the Executive Yuan must resume leadership over pandemic policy, he said.
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
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