Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday urged nominees for legislative speaker and deputy speaker to brief his party’s eight legislators-at-large-elect on their stance on the legislative reform proposals the TPP made earlier this month.
The TPP is hoping that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) nominees would visit the TPP’s legislative caucus office and share their views on the proposals, Ko said after meeting with the party caucus at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
SWING VOTE
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The TPP won eight seats in the Jan. 13 elections, and it holds a critical swing vote as neither the DPP, with 51 seats, nor the KMT, with 52 seats, won an absolute majority in the 113-seat legislature.
TPP lawmakers on Jan. 15 made four proposals that they said were aimed at legislative transparency and oversight, and asked the two major parties’ legislative speaker candidates to endorse them.
The proposals called for revising rules on penalties for officials who give false testimony at hearings, prohibiting agencies from blocking lawmaker access to documents, preventing lawmakers from acting on bills that constitute a conflict of interest and requiring the legislative speaker to detail their use of a special stipend.
The TPP appeal had publicly been ignored by the DPP and KMT until Wednesday, when the KMT candidate for speaker, Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), its 2020 presidential candidate, wrote on Facebook that many suggestions about reforming the legislature had been made.
“These proposals are sensible and should be taken seriously,” Han wrote.
He said he welcomed and would support bills aimed at pushing reforms and providing effective checks and balances of the ruling party.
Ko yesterday acknowledged criticism that the speaker cannot push reforms on their own through the legislature, but he said the speaker candidates should at least make their stances on the issues clear in front of the TPP caucus.
CAUTION
KMT Secretary-General Justin Huang (黃健庭) said the KMT caucus would need to assess the situation before it decides whether to answer Ko’s call, having heard that the TPP caucus is mulling different strategies for the speakership election.
The KMT may be proceeding cautiously after a failed attempt in November to create a unified KMT-TPP presidential ticket to dislodge the DPP from power, which the KMT blamed on Ko.
Legislative Speaker You Si-kun of the DPP who is widely expected to run again said that he would visit any caucus that invites him to elaborate on his ideas and use such opportunities to canvass support.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
BACK TO WINTER: A strong continental cold air mass would move south on Tuesday next week, bringing colder temperatures to northern and central Taiwan A tropical depression east of the Philippines could soon be upgraded to be the first tropical storm of this year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the next cold air mass is forecast to arrive on Monday next week. CWA forecaster Cheng Jie-ren (鄭傑仁) said the first tropical depression of this year is over waters east of the Philippines, about 1,867km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), and could strengthen into Tropical Storm Nokaen by early today. The system is moving slowly from northwest to north, and is expected to remain east of the Philippines with little chance of affecting Taiwan,
RSS