Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) yesterday did not deny reports of a conflict with KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) over the slow progress of a bill that would help cities and counties merge into special municipalities.
Wu declined to comment on a report by the Chinese-language China Times yesterday that he had slammed the door in Lin's face during a caucus meeting to express his dissatisfaction with the progress of the proposed amendment to the Local Government Act (地方制度法).
However, Wu, the head of the legislature's Internal Administration Commitee, said Lin should have worked harder to push the proposed amendment as it was part of President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) campaign promise to allow Taichung city and county to merge.
“If the bill fails to clear the legislative floor by April 20, it will be impossible for any city or county to be merged [before the year-end city and county chief elections]. The president would then be accused of breaking his promise,” Wu said.
Central Election Commission Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) said on Wednesday last week that there could be problems if the legislature failed to pass the amendment by April 20.
In accordance with the Political Donation Act (政治獻金法), any aspirant eyeing the year-end city and county chief elections could begin accepting political donations from April 20, Chang said.
Chang said if a city and county completed their merger after the elections at the end of this year, the commission would be forced to hold another election at the end of next year for the chief of the new special municipality, while the newly elected chiefs of the city and county would only be able to serve for a year instead of the full four-year term.
“That would be unreasonable,” Chang said.
When approached for comment, Lin said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was responsible for the bill's slow progress.
“I'm eager to have the bill passed as soon as possible. However, the DPP has said it would never support the bill unless the legislature also passes the administrative zoning act (行政區劃法) and an amendment to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法),” Lin said, adding that he would continue to communicate with the DPP caucus on the matter.
In response, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told a press conference that the party supported prioritizing a legislative review of the amendments to the Local Government Act next month that would also allow Kaohsiung city and county to merge next year.
Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) said that 59 percent of Kaohsiung city and county residents supported the merger, as the merger would make the biggest city in the south more competitive.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS