Officials and academics yesterday offered clashing visions for a long-delayed bill to facilitate redrawing Taiwan’s administrative regions, indicating that there is trouble ahead for the government in the latest attempt.
The Ministry of the Interior since 1992 has tried six times to advance legislation to rearrange the nation’s administrative map, Minister of the Interior Dong Jian-hong (董建宏) told a public hearing by the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee in Taipei.
The attempts failed, as lawmakers and the public alike could not agree on the legal mechanism’s design or the changes the process would have created, Dong said.
Photo: CNA
Moving administrative boundaries would entail changes to electoral districts, and local government structures and budgets, as well as other resources, with each a potential point of contention, he said.
The ministry’s latest draft bill is entitled the “act governing the division of administrative regions” to avoid the impression that the legislation would directly lead to major alterations to the administrative map, he said.
The ministry needs to pass the bill because the Local Government Act (地方制度法) governs the creation of special municipalities, but provides no provisions to adjust or establish other types of administrative regions, he said.
The bill being prepared is not for the special municipalities, he added.
The draft bill does not allow referendums to be held over the redrawing of the administrative map, for such alterations would have been planned with public input through other means, he added.
Soochow University professor of law Hu Po-yen (胡博硯) objected to the government’s proposal, saying that changing the administrative map would always be a political problem, not a legislative one.
Any law that enables the redrawing of the administrative map would have an enormous effect on residents and depriving them of a vote on the matter would spark discontent, Hu said.
Although not universally used by other nations when changing administrative division procedures, referendums should be considered a possible solution to avoid public discontent, he said.
Tunghai University professor of political science Chi Chun-chen (紀俊臣) said that drawing administrative divisions is an essential aspect of local governments and the ministry is mistaken in writing a new law instead of amending the Local Government Act.
The ministry has never been the appropriate agency to propose a change of such magnitude, said Yao Meng-chang (姚孟昌), an associate professor of law at Fu Jen Catholic University.
The nation’s ruling party has changed three times since the ministry first tried to push such a bill through the legislature, proving that the agency does not have the standing to bring about such a massive change, Yao said.
Enabling changes to administrative boundaries would interfere with the political machine that political parties depend on to win elections, Taiwan University professor of law Lin Ming-chiang (林明鏘) said.
“The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) did not dare to touch [the bill], and I don’t believe the Democratic Progressive Party would be any different,” Lin said.
Separately, the ministry said it plans to ask the Constitutional Court to dissolve the Rehabilitation Alliance Party after a court found party leader Chu Hung-yi (屈宏義) guilty of spying for China.
The High Court on June 27 sentenced Chu to 10 years in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法). The verdict can be appealed.
Chu was found guilty of accepting funds for political use from a hostile foreign power and recruiting former military personnel to betray secrets, the ministry said, citing the verdict.
As the party’s leader, Chu’s crimes threatened national security and the democratic constitutional order, which are the legal criteria for the nation’s highest court to dissolve a political party, it said.
Officials are completing the ministry’s internal procedures to file the motion to the Constitutional Court, it said.
The party must elect a new head within three months or face a fine of NT$200,000 to NT$1 million (US$6,892 to US$34,460), the ministry said, citing the Political Parties Act (政黨法), which stipulates that people sentenced to 10 years or more in prison are disqualified from leading a party.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
ISOLATION: The outposts would serve as support and backup bases, forcing US forces to either face China head-on or reroute, increasing travel time and operational costs China’s outposts in the South China Sea could be used to delay and constrain foreign forces during a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, giving Beijing a critical window to carry out amphibious landing and blockade operations, a report said. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forward operating bases on islands and reclaimed features in the South China Sea could delay foreign forces long enough for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to secure a key 48-to-72-hour window in the Taiwan Strait, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council found. The report, conducted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, examined
RSS