Members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday criticized President William Lai’s (賴清德) plan to seek a ruling from the Constitutional Court on recently passed legislative reforms despite signing them into law.
The KMT caucus called on the court to remain impartial in its ruling after Lai said he would seek a judgement and apply for “a preliminary injunction” from the court to stop the amendments from being implemented before a final ruling is made.
At a news conference in Taipei, KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi urged Lai to “bravely face the legislature and the people,” and appealed to the court to show judicial conscience by not opposing the reforms.
Photo: Fang Ping-chao, Taipei Times
“The Constitutional Court is the guardian of the Constitution, and should not be a watchdog for any political party,” KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said.
As the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) appointed the court’s justices, they are likely to rule in favor of the Lai administration, Lo said.
When the DPP was the opposition party it recognized the need for legislative reform, but it now opposes it, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) said.
Before a judgement is issued, the government should respect and adhere to the laws passed by the legislature, as in any democracy, Hung said, referring to an earlier statement by Lai that he would deliver a “state of the nation” address to the legislature only after a constitutional ruling.
The TPP also expressed regret over the matter, saying that legislative reform was the expectation of the ruling and opposition parties and Taiwanese.
The reform bills passed by the legislature should be respected and Lai should stand with public opinion, the TPP said in a statement.
During his presidential campaign, Lai said there was an obligation for a president to give a “state of the nation” address, but since his election, he has distorted the reform bills, it said.
The president is unwilling to face legislative oversight and is clinging tightly to his executive power, it added.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm earlier today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, in this year's Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am, the CWA said. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) with a 100km radius, it said. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA meteorologist Huang En-hung (黃恩宏) said. However, a more accurate forecast would be made on Wednesday, when Yinxing is
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30