Lawmakers who allegedly leaked to the press details of a closed-door meeting on Wednesday were condemned in a resolution passed by the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
"Legislators are fully aware of the rules for closed-door meetings and whoever leaks details should be condemned. Hopefully this will make the individuals concerned behave themselves," said KMT Legislator Chen Horng-chi (陳鴻基), who is chairman of the Legislative Yuan's Discipline Committee.
Wednesday's meeting, which was called by the legislature's Budget Committee, discussed the budgets of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense and National Security Bureau, according to reports.
Half way through the meeting, reporters waiting outside the meeting room had already got wind of what was discussed inside -- that Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (
The information was allegedly passed to the press by lawmakers.
Publicizing the name of a potential ally doesn't usually happen because of the sensitivity of the situation. China has a policy of international isolation against Taiwan. Currently, only 29 countries maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
"China's suppression will follow once news about a new ally is publicized in advance. Past experience has shown that such a plan would simply `die on exposure,'" DPP Legislator Yang Chiu-hsing (
Yang demanded a criminal investigation by justice authorities to determine who was responsible for the leak and said if the situation was allowed to continue it could severely jeopardize Taiwan's security.
"There will be no need for the Chinese to send spies here, because there are already spies in the legislature. China can gain immediate knowledge of Taiwan's confidential budgets, confidential policy planning and confidential meetings," Yang said.
Wang Shih-hsun (
Yang and Wang said they were ready to file for an interpretation from the Council of Grand Justices on the scope of legislators' immunity.
"It is debatable whether legislators should be protected when they take advantage of their positions and leak national secrets," Yang said.
KMT Legislator Chu Li-luan (
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu
RSS