The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus does not plan to boycott the premier’s first report to the legislature on Friday, Executive Yuan spokesman Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said on Monday, amid rumors of a blockade as controversy rages over a set of controversial legislative reform bills.
KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) in an extension of goodwill toward the Cabinet has vowed not to boycott Premier Cho Jung-tai’s (卓榮泰) first report to the legislature scheduled for Friday, Chen told reporters.
Chen also wishes that this goodwill could extend to the people, so that recent disputes in the legislature could reach an amenable conclusion, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
Cho has always respected the right of the people to express their opinion, and admires the courage of those protesting nationwide, he said.
The premier looks forward to a positive response from the legislature so that the people no longer need to take to the streets out of concern, braving the elements and taking leave from work in some cases, he added.
The legislature on Tuesday is set to deliberate in the second reading the last in a set of legislative reform bills.
The only bill awaiting passage to the third and final reading is a change to the Criminal Code that would impose a prison sentence of up to a year and a fine of up to NT$200,000 on government officials for lying during legislative hearings.
Civil groups have called for a fourth day of protests outside of the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday against what they say is legislative overreach, forced through the legislative process through opaque means.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
RSS