A legislative committee yesterday resolved that the Central Election Commission should put an immediate halt to the second-stage signature drive that would force a referendum on whether the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should return its stolen assets to the state coffers.
The initiator of the referendum proposal, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), needs to collect the signatures of 0.5 percent of the country's eligible voters, or 82,500 people, for the proposal to go ahead.
Cashing in on its numerical advantage in the committee, the opposition-dominated Organic Laws and Statutes Committee voted five to two in favor of a motion filed by KMT Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (
Tseng condemned the Executive Yuan and it's Grievances Commission, criticizing the commission for abusing its power. He also requested the Central Election Commission immediately halt the signature campaign in accordance with the decision made by the Referendum Review Commission on Nov. 24.
The review committee ruled that the petition filed by DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun aiming to launch a referendum on reclaiming the KMT's stolen assets "failed to conform to related regulations." The decision ran counter to the decision made earlier by the Grievances Commission, which had said that Yu's proposal "conformed to related regulations."
Tseng yesterday argued that the Grievances Commission did not have the right to decide the fate of Yu's proposal because the issue fell under the jurisdiction of the Referendum Review Commission.
Tseng said that what the Grievances Commission should have done was to wait until the Referendum Review Commission reached a verdict and dismiss the ruling if it deemed it to be inappropriate, or ask the review committee to make a speedy review of Yu's proposal if it failed to tackle the matter within the time limit stated by law.
DPP caucus whip Chen Ching-jun (
DPP Legislator Chen Chin-de (
Chen Chin-de criticized the Referendum Review Commission and Grievances Commission for doing a poor job and demanded the resignations of the heads of the two organizations.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (
Shih, however, said it was not only her decision, but that of the commission's 12 members as well.
Shih said commission members had based their decision on the fact that the Referendum Review Commission had failed to tackle Yu's proposal within the two-month legal period after Yu filed the petition on Sept. 4. Yu complained to the Grievances Commission on Nov. 7 and the commission is required to make a decision within three months.
Referendum Review Commission Chairman Kao Yung-kuang (
Kao said that some of the review commission members were so upset with the Grievances Commission's decision that they were talking about resigning en masse to protest against its disrespect for their authority and abuse of power.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS