Opposition lawmakers voted on Friday to fast-track a motion condemning Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) following his refusal to countersign legislation on creating savings accounts for youth passed by the legislature, alongside other bills.
The motion, proposed by the Taiwan People’s Party, accused the Democratic Progressive Party administration of “repeatedly abusing authority under the Constitution” to invalidate legislation passed by the legislature.
“Not only does this exceed official authority and disrupt the separation of powers, but it also treats the legislature with complete disregard,” the proposal read.
Photo: CNA
With the support from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the proposal skipped committee review and moved directly to a second reading, setting up a potential vote in as soon as a month.
Under the legal system, a legislative motion to censure the premier is symbolic only, with no binding force or statutory authority.
Cho announced on Monday last week he would not countersign the Youth Development and Future Account Act (台灣兒少成長及未來帳戶條例), a bill creating government-funded accounts for Taiwanese under the age of 18, and an amendment to the Cable Radio and Television Act, passed by the opposition-controlled legislation.
Article 37 of the Constitution of the Republic of China stipulates that laws passed by the Legislature must be countersigned by the premier before the president can formally enact them.
The opposition argues that this authority serves as a check on presidential power, not on the Legislature, and that the premier should request a re-vote if the government does not support a law.
No premier had ever taken such action to block a law passed by the Legislature before December last year when Cho first declined to countersign the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法).
Since then, Cho has refused to sign legislation seven times, including amendments to legislative governance rules.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) slammed Cho on Thursday for “weaponizing” his countersign authority, calling the move a mistake.
Responding to Han, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said on Friday that Article 37 of the Constitution requires Cho to take action to “uphold the constitutional order.”
The Executive Yuan refused to countersign the bill on constitutional and equity grounds, contending that the measure encroaches on its constitutional authority to manage policies and the national budget, that allowing corporate sponsorship of the accounts could widen the wealth gap, and that vague tax exemptions violate the principle of taxation by law, its statement said.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks that Taiwan is a Chinese province seeking independence threaten regional peace and stability and could undermine Taiwanese businesses’ confidence in investing in Malaysia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said today. Anwar recently made remarks implying that Taiwan is a province seeking to separate from China, effectively legitimizing Beijing’s position on using force to take Taiwan, the ministry said in a statement. The Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign, independent country and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China, MOFA said, adding that that fact would not be changed no matter
UNNECESSARY?: While some said that the switch would mean more sunlight exposure for workers, others said the government should promote flexible working hours instead An online debate has resurfaced on whether Taiwan should switch to the same time zone as Japan, with supporters citing its geographic location and saying that China would have no right to object. The debate erupted on Threads when users suggested that Taiwan should stop using the same time zone as China, Malaysia and Singapore, GMT+8, and instead switch one hour ahead to the same time zone as Japan and South Korea, GMT+9, which it is geographically closer to. Under GMT+9 the sun would set later year-round, meaning that people would see sunlight after getting off work even in the winter and
The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday confirmed that Uni Air has submitted an application to suspend its Taipei-Hualien flights due to persistently low passenger rates. The airline, which is the only operator of the Taipei-Hualien route, proposed to suspend the service after Mandarin Airlines, another domestic flight carrier, applied to suspend flights to Hualien departing from Kaohsiung and Taichung earlier this year. The average load factor of the Taipei-Hualien flights during the first six months was 24.2 percent, CAA data showed. The average seat occupancy rate dropped even further to 17 percent last month, even though it was the beginning
The removal of the anime Chainsmoker Cat (尼古喵喵) from streaming platforms due to tobacco product placement complaints contravenes the principle of proportionality and stifles creative expression, an advocacy group said yesterday, after the Health Promotion Administration launched an investigation that could result in platform operators facing fines of up to NT$1 million (US$31,415). Bahamut Animation Crazy, an animation streaming platform, has confirmed that the show is no longer available in Taiwan, after the John Tung Foundation, the Taiwan Anti-Smoking Alliance and other groups yesterday called on authorities to investigate and urged the show to be removed for allegedly promoting smoking. In response,
RSS