Disappointed by the seventh legislature’s performance a year after its inauguration, Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) yesterday urged lawmakers to focus on their duties, be “civilized” and watch what they say.
“It’s been a year since the seventh legislature began, but instead of setting good examples for the public and focusing on work, our lawmakers often engage in misconduct that breaks the rules they themselves create,” CCW executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said, citing several incidents involving “inappropriate” remarks or behavior on the part of lawmakers.
In one incident in October, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Chia-chen (盧嘉辰) said a colleague needed a husband to stop her from complaining.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) had expressed anger at a government policy at a meeting of the Internal Administration Committee, to which Lu said: “The only way to make Chiu happy is to find her a husband.”
In another incident the same month, DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) slapped KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) after Hung hit Kuan’s office aide.
Kuan was later sent to the Discipline Committee, which suspended her legislative authority for three months.
Also that month, KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) called Kuan “shameless” after the two got into an argument.
Earlier this month, Lu said Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) had suffered a minor stroke two years ago as punishment for the then-DPP government’s decision to change the name of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to National Taiwan Democracy Hall. Lu said the change had offended Chiang’s ghost.
Last week, in response to news that parents with a higher level of education were less willing to have children amid the economic crisis, KMT Legislator Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) said: “Today it’s only those lower class workers with a lower education who have nothing that would have children, and their children will just grow up to become homeless people.”
“We regret that, among all these incidents of misconduct, only the case involving Kuan and Hung was sent to the Discipline Committee,” CCW chairman Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華) said. “We expect our legislature to be civilized, driven by public interests, transparent and efficient.”
In response, Kuo and Lu both said they had not meant to offend anyone. Kuan said it was not fair that the legislature had punished her, but she said she would improve her performance.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we