■ LEGISLATURE
No resolution on Kuan
The legislature said a resolution by the Education and Culture Committee to discipline Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) required further cross-party negotiation after the DPP caucus blocked the resolution in the plenary session yesterday. The committee resolved on Oct. 23 to refer Kuan to the Disciplinary Committee after she allegedly slapped Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) in the face during a meeting the previous day. Media reports said Kuan took action because Hung had poked her assistant in the eye when Hung angrily pushed away a poster during the education committee’s preliminary review of the budget for the National Science Council. Kuan may be obliged to issue an oral or written apology or have her legislative rights suspended by between three and six months if the legislature approves the resolution.
■ POLITICS
DPP picks Lin for Taichung
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday that former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would represent the party in next year’s Taichung mayoral election. Tsai said the party decided to recruit Lin after former DPP legislator Hsieh Ming-yuan (謝明源), who had earlier expressed his interest in running next year, backed out. Tsai lauded Lin’s rich experience as a public servant, adding that he has been staying in Taichung to prepare for the campaign. Tsai said the party believed Lin was the best candidate to run for the post.
■ POLITICS
KMT restores members
The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Evaluation and Discipline Committee earlier this month restored the party rights of four legislators who were suspended for barging into the office of former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) during the presidential campaign in March. The four KMT legislators, Alex Fai (費鴻泰), Chen Chieh (陳杰), Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) and Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), were accused of trespassing and clashing with Hsieh’s supporters. The KMT decided to suspended their party rights for one year as punishment. However, committee head Juan Kang-meng (阮剛猛) confirmed yesterday that the rights of the four lawmakers were restored ahead of time. “The four legislators have performed well at work and have been well-behaved during this period,” Juan said. He said that some KMT central standing committee members proposed reviving the four’s party rights, and the committee agreed to do so after serious consideration.
■ ECONOMY
DPP blasts China policies
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) warned yesterday that the government’s quick action to lift restrictions on China-bound businesses could result in capital flight of NT$800 billion (US$24.1 billion). DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) told a press conference that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had taken advantage of the recession to make Taiwan overdependent on China and increase capital outflow across the Strait. After the nation emerges from a recession, Taiwan would have lost its economic independence, Lai said. Saying that the government’s 10 financial deregulatory policies have led to capital flight of NT$150 billion, the caucus estimated that if Taiwan’s 1,200-plus listed firms were to expand their investments in China following the easing of restrictions, it would result in another NT$650 billion flowing to China.
■ HEALTH
Control Yuan slams DOH
The Control Yuan yesterday reprimanded the Department of Health (DOH) over its handling of issues associated with melamine-contaminated products from China. Milk powder imported from China was in September found to contain the toxic chemical melamine, which has since also been found in other Chinese products. The Control Yuan said the DOH had failed to implement a food safety mechanism capable of detecting contaminated food products, had been inconsistent in setting up a standard for permissible levels of melamine, failed to clearly explain to the public why the safety limit for the chemical had been set at 2.5 parts per million and had been negligent in establishing a standard operational procedure to deal with major food safety incidents.
■ CRIME
Judge accused of gambling
The Control Yuan yesterday impeached Hsu Hung-chi (徐宏志), a judge in the Tainan branch of the Taiwan High Court, for his alleged involvement in gambling. The Control Yuan said Hsu played mahjong 100 days per year and had played with former Tainan County Council deputy speaker Chou Wu-liu (周五六) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in May and June, 2001, when Chou was being reviewed by the court on corruption charges. The Control Yuan said this violated the Civil Servants Work Act (公務人員服務法) and the guidelines for courts.
■ SOCIETY
Film festival in Kaohsiung
This year’s Women Make Waves Film Festival moved to Kaohsiung yesterday for a six-day run during which 10 films by Taiwanese and foreign female directors will be screened. The films will be shown at the Kaohsiung Film Archive, and will be followed by panel discussions.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
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