Taiwan People’s Party caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said the party caucus has already signed onto a constitutional amendment to abolish the Control Yuan, although the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was reluctant to support the idea.
The comments came after the Legislative Yuan passed a third reading of some of the amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法), which the Control Yuan alleged breached the separation of powers in the Constitution.
Huang said the abolition of the Control Yuan is one of the TPP’s cornerstones, and vowed that the caucus would propose a constitutional amendment on the matter.
Photo: Lin Che-yuan, Taipei Times
The Control Yuan costs NT$1 billion (US$30.83 million) per year of taxpayers’ money, but has proven worthless, he said, adding that it is the public’s consensus that such a useless organ be abolished.
KMT opinions were split between KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁), who voiced support for the motion, and the KMT Central Committee, which stated that the separation of powers is based on the framework crafted by Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙).
KMT Culture and Communications Committee head Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) yesterday said in a statement after the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting that the Control Yuan, under the leadership of Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊), had accomplished nothing.
Lee said the organ, which is supposed to provide government oversight, has become a tool of political oppression.
He was referring to the Control Yuan’s investigation into the arrest of the late Columbus Leo (羅益世) by then-Taipei Zhongshan Precinct Criminal Investigation Division director Hou You-yi (侯友宜) 35 years ago when Leo returned to Taiwan.
The Control Yuan respects legislators’ rights and powers, so long as such a motion is made through a constitutional amendment, as the Constitution establishes the Control Yuan’s powers, Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said.
Lee opposed freezing or removing the Control Yuan’s budget, because such methods would only affect how the government is run.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) yesterday said the motion to abolish the Control Yuan was another attempt to expand the power of the legislative branch.
Wang accused Fu and Huang of being “power hungry” and that such a situation was detrimental to the nation’s development.
Commenting on amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power that have already been passed, Wang said the DPP caucus would demand a constitutional interpretation and file for an injunction against the amendments to prevent them from coming into effect.
Additional reporting by CNA
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
RSS