Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers yesterday touted their legislative achievements and outlined the party’s agenda for the upcoming legislative session in September.
The TPP’s five lawmakers helped revise and pass 37 laws this session through their membership in the various legislative committees, TPP Legislator Andy Chiu (邱臣遠) told a news conference at the legislature in Taipei.
For the upcoming legislative session, which is to run until December, the party will focus on five core issues — national security, housing justice, fiscal discipline, economic development and environmental sustainability, he said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Particular attention would be given to the nation’s burgeoning defense budget of NT$240 billion (US$8.26 billion) allotted over five years, he said, adding that corruption allegations have caused delays in the implementation of the program.
Soaring rent and property values are an issue of concern to ordinary Taiwanese, TPP Legislator Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) said, adding that she would focus on passing a bill to regulate presale property transfers in the next session.
This legislation had stalled after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers showed a lack of interest, which runs counter to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) promise during her 2020 presidential election campaign to promote housing justice, she said.
Lawmakers must lean on the central bank to regulate the flow of investment to the housing market, which is the underlying cause of unaffordable housing prices, TPP Legislator Jang Chill (張其祿) said.
In addition, tax credit for renters should be listed as a special deduction under the Income Tax Act (所得稅法) to ease the pressure on renters, he said.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics should be prompted to list COVID-19 pandemic stimulus as a regular part of the budget to allow oversight by lawmakers, he said.
The government must make appropriate plans for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which is to be implemented in the EU starting next year, TPP Legislator Ann Kao (高虹安) said.
The effects of the regulation would be felt in Taiwan’s export-oriented economy, especially as 70 percent of the country’s enterprises reportedly do not understand that legal mechanism, she said, citing a study by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Taiwan’s carbon credit scheme needs to be improved urgently if the country wants to keep a favorable negotiating position in trading with the EU, she said.
The TPP caucus will continue to work on amending the Mental Health Act (精神衛生法), the Tobacco Hazard Prevention Act (菸害防制法), the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act (溫室氣體減量及管理法) and other laws pertaining to the environment and public health, TPP Legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) said.
The TPP and other political parties have reached a consensus on overhauling parts of the Mining Act (礦業法), including doing away with a stipulation that the government must compensate mine operators after revoking a license, he said.
Additionally, legislation for creating a carbon-neutral cement sector by 2050 and a road map to reducing emissions should be prioritized for the next legislative session, he said.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is suspending retaliation measures against South Korea that were set to take effect tomorrow, after Seoul said it is updating its e-arrival system, MOFA said today. The measures were to be a new round of retaliation after Taiwan on March 1 changed South Korea's designation on government-issued alien resident certificates held by South Korean nationals to "South Korea” from the "Republic of Korea," the country’s official name. The move came after months of protests to Seoul over its listing of Taiwan as "China (Taiwan)" in dropdown menus on its new online immigration entry system. MOFA last week
A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill to enhance cooperation with Taiwan on drone development and to reduce reliance on supply chains linked to China. The proposed Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026 was introduced by Republican US senators Ted Cruz and John Curtis, and Democratic US senators Jeff Merkley and Andy Kim. The legislation seeks to ease constraints on Taiwan-US cooperation in uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including dependence on China-sourced components, limited access to capital and regulatory barriers under US export controls, a news release issued by Cruz on Wednesday said. The bill would establish a "Blue UAS
RSS