The pan-blue caucuses are divided again on a major issue: whether to allow President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to proceed with the first-ever state-of-the-nation address in the Legislative Yuan.
While the People First Party (PFP) has shown enthusiasm about the issue for the past two days, climaxing with party Chairman James Soong (
"The KMT caucus basically welcomes the president to deliver a state-of-the-nation address in the Legislative Yuan, but the address has to be constitutional and legal, and it has to take place after the legislative elections," KMT caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (
"The Constitution stipulates that the Legislative Yuan can invite the president to make a state-of-the-nation address every year, and that means the right and the decision to initiate such a report lies with the Legislative Yuan," he said.
"So it may be unconstitutional for President Chen to initiate such a request," he said.
Tseng also said that the caucus would request a constitutional interpretation on Chen's request.
"The existing laws do not stipulate how the president should proceed with the address or how the president should interact with lawmakers, and we should amend the laws to regulate how these things should proceed," Tseng said.
Tseng said that before the Legislative Yuan goes into recess at the beginning of November, the lawmakers have to question the premier and review the annual budget, and there was no time left for the president.
"So if the president wants to give his address, he has to wait until after the election," Tseng said.
Even Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), despite being scheduled to host an inter-party negotiation between the caucuses tomorrow to discuss the issue, rejected Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Tseng-chang's (蘇貞昌) request two days ago to meet and discuss the technical aspects of the address.
"It is unknown whether the Legislative Yuan will accept the president's request, and Su doesn't have to come now to talk about this. We can discuss the issue only after the Legislative Yuan invites the president to deliver the address," he said.
Contrary to the KMT's cool attitude, the PFP has even decided to have an incumbent legislator-at-large, Legislator Lee Tung-hao (
Soong said earlier this month that he was willing to become a legislator-at-large in order to debate with Chen on policies.
But the prerequisite for Soong's appearance in the Legislative Yuan would be that Chen must interact and be questioned by lawmakers after the address, the PFP said.
Although PFP shared a similar attitude with the KMT on the constitutionality and legality of the issue, PFP caucus whip Liu Weng-hsiung (
The Democratic Progressive Party caucus, meanwhile, defended the validity of the president's request.
"According to the Constitution, President Chen can take the initiative to request a state-of-the-nation address. Even if the pan-blue camp requests a constitutional interpretation of the request, it won't affect the delivery of the address," DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said.
"How the address should proceed can be decided simply by inter-party negotiations, and there is no need for an amendment to the laws," he said.
The DPP caucus also said that for the president to deliver the address, the Legislative Yuan only needs to arrange an extra sitting on one day, which won't affect the question-and-answer session with the premier and the review of the annual budget.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS