The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China.
DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041).
Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition to the bill and 49 for, sending the proposal back to the Procedural Committee.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Shen said that he had expected this from the KMT, but had not anticipated the TPP aiding the KMT.
The TPP was not just the KMT’s lackey, but was also helping the Chinese Communist Party prevent the DPP from closing loopholes which would help safeguard national security, DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said.
TPP Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) said that the proposed amendments were rough around the edges and she was solidly against double standards.
Chen, who is known for her pro-Taiwanese independence stance, said she had once been a DPP supporter, but the party has demonstrated that it was prone to forgetting promises.
Chen asked whether DPP members were all on board with the proposed amendment, citing visits to China by Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and Presidential Office Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) when they were head of the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office and Taichung mayor respectively, as well as Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan’s (鄭文燦) visit to Macau.
In other developments, opposition lawmakers yesterday used their majority in the legislature to send a proposed amendment giving lawmakers the final say in electricity prices directly to a second reading. It passed with a 58-51 vote.
The proposed revision to Article 49 of the Electricity Act (電業法) requires electricity rate changes by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ power price review committee to be submitted to the Legislature for approval, or it cannot be implemented.
Legislation must pass three readings to become law. In the first reading, the titles of proposed bills are read out loud and then referred to the appropriate committees for review before being sent to a second reading. If a motion is seconded by at least 20 lawmakers and passes a vote, it could be sent straight through to the second reading without being referred to a committee for examination.
The amendment came after the government on Tuesday said that the electricity rate hike for last month would not be changed, despite a resolution passed by lawmakers to freeze the policy.
The opposition yesterday also sent a proposed amendment to the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法), which said that listed companies must share their surplus profits with employees in the form of additional wages, directly to a second reading.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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