The Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday for failing to fulfill its promise of legislative reform, citing the high number of KMT absences at the legislature and the stalled sunshine bills.
Statistics released by the CCW at a press conference held outside the Legislative Yuan showed KMT Legislator Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡) topping the list with 18 absences during the legislative session from February to May. KMT legislators Liu Chuan-chung (劉銓忠) and Tsao Erh-chung (曹爾忠) ranked second with 16 absences each and Lii Ming-shing (李明星) placed third with 15 absences.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chi-yu (陳啟昱) and Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator Yen Chin-piao (顏清標) also ranked second.
PHOTO: CNA
“Since the legislative session began, the legislature’s efficiency has been really disappointing,” CCW chairman Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華) said.
“The KMT leadership, including [President] Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九], [KMT chairman] Wu Poh-hsiung [吳伯雄] and [Legislative Speaker] Wang Jin-pyng [王金平] repeatedly told the public that the KMT, with the majority in the legislature and the governing party, will make legislative efficiency and self-discipline its priority” Ku said.
“They also said they would push for legislative reform and pass the sunshine bills — but what do we see now?” Ku said.
Ku urged lawmakers to strive to “achieve perfect attendance records and work harder to have the sunshine bills passed.”
Approached for comment, Chang said a legislator’s performance should not be judged solely on his or her record of attendance.
“I was helping to take care of the fertilizer [shortage] problem and flooding because of heavy rains in Yunlin County,” she said. “Although I wasn’t at legislative meetings, I was helping the farmers in my constituency.”
Liu said he was busy attending the funeral of farmers who died because of the heat, while Tsao said he was unable to return to Taipei from his constituency in Matsu because of heavy fog.
Liu said that he was out of the country on official business.
Chen said he was busy running for local chapter chairman, but promised that he would spend more time at the legislature as the local party chief election was over.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Passengers aboard Korean Airlines Flight KE189 arrived in Taichung safely yesterday after a scare the previous day encountering uncontrolled decompression, which injured 13 passengers. Flight KE189 departed from Incheon at 4:45pm on Saturday bound for Taichung with 125 passengers on board. The flight was above Jeju Island when a fault in the pressurization system occurred 50 minutes after takeoff. Online flight tracker Flightradar24’s data show that the plane dropped more than 8,000 meters within 15 minutes, before it returned and landed back at Incheon Airport at 19:38pm. Thirteen passengers on board had a headache or earache due to the incident and were hospitalized. A different
China might seek to isolate Taiwan and weaken its economy through a “quarantine,” which would make it difficult for the US to respond and force Taipei to negotiate on unification, CNN reported on Saturday. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) “increasingly bellicose actions” toward Taiwan have heightened concerns that Beijing would use its military against Taiwan, it said, citing a report by think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). However, China might choose to initiate a quarantine, rather than a military invasion of Taiwan, to avoid US involvement, it said. “A quarantine [is] a law enforcement-led operation to control
A new message broadcast on the Taipei MRT’s Wenhu (Brown) Line urging passengers to yield their seats to those in need, not necessarily elderly people, would be extended to other MRT lines and public transportation in the capital, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday. Chiang was responding to reporters’ questions on the sidelines of a news conference at Taipei City Hall promoting healthy walking. Several disputes over priority seats on public transportation have recently been reported, sparking debate about who qualifies to sit in them, as most of the cases involved elderly people asking young people to give up their