Upset with the decision by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus to delay deliberation on a bill he favored, Legislator Chu Hsing-yu (朱星羽) yesterday announced his withdrawal from the party.
"I proclaim my withdrawal from the DPP now," Chu said yesterday after Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
PHOTO: LO PEI-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
Chu, the main advocate for the proposed amendments, declared that "this is the saddest day of my 23-year political life. I need to apologize to President Chen Shui-bian (
"But the decision was based upon my conscience," he said.
The proposed revisions had won endorsement from 163 ruling and opposition lawmakers, Chu said. He said the DPP caucus wanted to block it in order to win votes from the nation's 15,000 tax inspectors.
Chu believes the annual reward system for tax inspectors who have caught tax evaders needs to be revised because the inspectors's excessive checks have interfered with people's lives.
But officials from the Ministry of Finance say the reward system has been institutionalized as part of tax officials' stipends. They said deliberation would be needed to any proposed alterations to the system.
Leaders of the DPP caucus upheld the ministry's view and demanded the revisions be delayed.
Chu's announcement was praised by pan-blue lawmakers, but DPP legislative leaders vowed to hold further discussions with Chu.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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