Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday agreed that the time was not ripe for toppling the Cabinet, as the issue of redrawing electoral districts had to be resolved first.
The Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, a blue-leaning fringe party, is planning to launch the campaign next week in the legislature to force Ma to demand the Cabinet's resignation, calling on the KMT to support the plan.
The two KMT leaders, however, drew short of supporting the proposal during their one-hour closed-door meeting.
"It's not practical to topple the Cabinet now. We don't have solutions for redistricting yet. What should we do if the president decides to dismiss the legislature?" Wang said yesterday at KMT headquarters.
The president is legally entitled to dissolve the legislature and hold new elections should the legislature topple the Cabinet.
Therefore, Wang said, a new electoral system should be in force to deal with the possibility of the legislature being dissolved by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in the event of the Cabinet's removal.
If Chen were to dissolve the legislature, it would force an election, which would be required to use a "single member, two vote" system because of recent constitutional reforms. It would also mean that the total number of seats in the legislature would be reduced to 113 from 226. Half of all sitting legislators would lose their jobs.
Ma and Wang also discussed long-stalled bills and other legislative business, including a major arms procurement budget and the president's nominations for the Control Yuan.
The arms procurement budget and the nominations for the Control Yuan were likely to pass in the next legislative session, Ma said.
"The KMT caucus has reached a consensus on this issue [the arms procurement budget] ... We will be thinking positively," Ma said.
Wang said the party caucus would discuss the budget bill with the People First Party caucus.
As for the Control Yuan nominees, Ma said the KMT would agree not to raise the approval threshold from one-half to a two-thirds majority to resolve the deadlock.
"But the president should nominate professionals. Otherwise, the real function of the Control Yuan would be limited," Ma added.
Wang also expressed his support for the "sunshine bills" proposed by the KMT that aim to fight corruption, promising to push for the passage of these laws in the Legislative Yuan.
The legislation includes a lobbying bill, a bill regulating political party activities, and amendments to the Public Functionary Assets Disclosure Law (
also see story:
Editorial: Topple the Cabinet? Bring it on
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS