The Legislative Yuan will become more transparent as it allows the public to access its video-on-demand (VOD) system for the first time and watch open-door legislative meetings from outside the legislature starting today.
An official at the legislature’s Information Technology Department told the Taipei Times that people would be able to watch live broadcasts as the eight standing committees hold meetings, as well as plenary sessions, at ivod.ly.gov.tw without having to register personal information.
PROCEDURE COMMITTEE
However, meetings of the pan-blue-dominated Procedure Committee would not be available as the legislature does not currently record those meetings, the official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that anyone interested in watching the videos should use Internet Explorer because of compatibility issues.
Only around 800 people will be able to use the Web site simultaneously because its bandwidth remains limited, he said.
The launch of the Web site can be seen as a major breakthrough in terms of legislative transparency.
For years, activists had urged the legislature to grant the public access to its VOD system, previously accessible only within the legislature, so the public could scrutinize lawmakers’ conduct.
However, some legislators had expressed concern that the footage could be manipulated by opponents to sabotage their image and political careers.
The matter remained unresolved until a task force composed of seven legislators across party lines on Jan. 30 reached a consensus to open the VOD system to the public.
C-SPAN
The task force took trips to the US in a bid to learn from the broadcast experiences of the C-SPAN channel.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Daniel Hwang (黃義交), a member of the task force, said they would negotiate with the National Communications Commission next in a bid to establish a channel similar to C-SPAN.
The legislative watchdog Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) lauded the changes.
“This is an historic step that the legislature has taken, it’s a breakthrough in Taiwan’s legislative history,” CCW executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said yesterday.
“We’re glad that the legislature is doing so and would like to express our appreciation to all the lawmakers and all the civic groups that made this come true,” Ho said.
Ho said that the group would continue to push for more transparency in the Legislative Yuan.
“Meetings of the Procedure Committee are not included in the VOD broadcast at this time. Pushing for meetings at the committee on the public VOD system will be our next goal,” he said.
The group will hold an award ceremony today at the legislature to honor lawmakers who helped push for public access to the VOD system.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOA IOK-SIN
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS