Some of the younger members of the legislature will be focusing on the economy and education when the Legislative Yuan's first session opens on Feb. 22.
One of the new faces, 33-year-old Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (
"A nation's economic problems cannot be solved by one legislator, but I will use my educational background in business administration to monitor the government's economic policies," she said.
She also promised to devote her time to education issues.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Lin-chun (
"They have no idea which policy to follow," Chiang said, pledging to supervise the government as it makes education-related decisions.
Chiang also promised to be more engaged in economic issues because of "the high unemployment rate in the south."
The youngest lawmaker in the new assembly, 27-year-old KMT Legislator Chang Chia-chun (
"Yunlin is an agriculture-based county and is more heavily influenced by the nation's economic situation than other cities or counties," said Chang, the daughter of one of the county's more powerful political figures, former county commissioner Chang Jung-wei (
As the only legislator who was born in the 1980s, Chang promised to voice the opinions of her generation in the legislature.
In related news, several civic groups said on Friday that the new legislature should be more transparent and open to help the public better understand its internal operations and inter-party negotiating system.
Ku Chung-hwa (
"More open hearings or debates should be held to help people understand the advantages and disadvantages of legislation," Ku said. "Every interpellation should be televised live and inter-party negotiations must be recorded."
Many groups have complained about the legislature's tendency to resolve contentious proposals behind closed doors, leading to suspicions of deal-making based on the lawmakers' individual interests.
Other basic information, such as bills pending or attendance records, have not always been readily available.
"In the past, the public couldn't get access to the body's internal rules and real-time information on its activities, which is not typical of a true democracy," Ku said.
The legislature is equipped with advanced communication facilities, so it should make a greater effort to boost transparency, said Thomas Peng (彭錦鵬), secretary-general of the Taiwan Competitiveness Forum.
"People also need to know about the attendance of the lawmakers and the voting process within the legislature," he said.
Former DPP legislator Chien Hsi-chieh, chief executive officer of the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan, said the legislature should set up or rent a TV channel to publicly broadcast every session.
"This will help people supervise our legislature and prevent corruption," Chien said.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
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