With the Legislative Yuan to hold its final two plenary sessions of the term this week, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday raised concerns that the opposition might attempt to push through controversial amendments during Friday’s session.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) — together holding a majority in the legislature — would likely have at least four controversial bills on the agenda for Friday, including proposed amendments to articles 4 and 34 of the Act Governing the Handling of Properties Improperly Obtained by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例), and amendments to the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例), the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), and the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法), the DPP caucus said.
The proposed amendments disregard social fairness and justice, and serve only to protect specific individuals and interest groups, it said, adding that it would block the bills.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
DPP caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said that based on experience over the past two years, any bill backed by a KMT-TPP majority would pass unless the parties feared a public backlash.
“This demonstrates that in a democratic system, voters and elections are the ultimate safeguard,” he said.
Local elections are to take place at the end of the year, and KMT and TPP candidates would face scrutiny from their constituents over their stances on controversial bills, he said.
“The DPP caucus would continue to emphasize that these bills are designed to protect specific interests,” he said.
Proposed amendments related to party assets would only serve to shield organizations such as the National Women’s League and the China Youth Corps, which were both found to be associated with the KMT and its ill-gotten party assets, he said.
The so-called “CTi clause” in the Satellite Broadcasting Act would open the door for foreign forces to conduct cognitive warfare in Taiwan, and a proposed amendment to the Offshore Islands Development Act would serve as a tailor-made measure to facilitate “origin laundering” for Chinese goods, he said.
As for proposed amendments decriminalizing misuse of assistant expense funds, these were clearly intended to relieve KMT Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) of legal pressure, he said.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) previously said that the draft amendments for which procedures have been completed remain on his caucus’ agenda and would be discussed at its meetings.
He added that 38 emerging project budgets already sent directly to a second reading could be passed at the final plenary session, if Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) convenes cross-party consultations this week and the DPP acts “with the people’s hardship in mind.”
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
RSS