In reaction to a series of recent misdemeanors by lawmakers — including physical and verbal clashes that occurred on Wednesday — lobby group Citizens Congress Watch (CCW) yesterday called on the legislature to set up a Gender Equality Committee and strengthen the role of the Disciplinary Committee.
“The incident yesterday [Wednesday], in which Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] Legislator Lee Ching-hua [李慶華] verbally abused Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Yi-ying [邱議瑩] that resulted in Chiu slapping him, was not an isolated incident,” CCW executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said as the group demonstrated outside the legislature. “It was one of what we consider six major cases of legislators overstepping their bounds since this legislature was inaugurated [in February last year].”
The other incidents included one in which KMT Legislator Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) said that the birth rate was too high among lower class people and that their children would only end up homeless. In another, KMT Legislator Lu Chia-chen (盧嘉辰) said that the only way to make Chiu happy was to get her a husband.
PHOTO: CNA
“I’m very disappointed with the lawmakers we elected — they need to work harder not only at their jobs, but also to watch what they say and improve their sense of gender equality,” said Kao Ru-ping (高如萍), deputy secretary-general of the National Association for the Promotion of Community Universities.
To keep lawmakers from misbehaving, CCW chairman Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華) suggested that the legislature create a Gender Equality Committee, strengthen the role of the Disciplinary Committee and reconsider lawmakers’ immunity from legal action over what they say in legislative sessions.
“The Disciplinary Committee is often in the hands of the majority party — the rules should be revised so that no party can hold more than 50 percent of the seats on the committee so that it can operate more fairly,” Ku said. “There were reasons at the time when lawmakers were granted immunity for what they say during legislative meetings — I think it’s already time to reconsider the application of that immunity.”
In related news, Chiu yesterday continued to lambaste the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for its “verbal violence” following Wednesday’s altercation.
“The KMT, along with some pro-unification media, are conducting a massive smear campaign to make me look like the ‘Queen Bee of the Mafia,’ but anyone that knows me knows I am not that kind of person,” she said.
Chiu said sometimes verbal abuse could cause more damage than physical assault.
She also panned accusations from the KMT that she used her beauty to advance her political career.
“Do I have a choice what kind of face I have?” she said, adding the matter was no longer an issue in her opinion, but she would reserve the right to pursue legal action.
Additional reporting by Jenny W. Hsu
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
Taiwanese barista Xie Yi-chen (謝溢宸) recently triumphed at the 2024 World Coffee Championships, taking home 1st place in the World Latte Art category. Xie, 28, impressed the judges in the final round with patterns of a whale, a moose, and a dragon in the three-day competition that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark from June 27-29, clinching the title of latte art world champion during his first time representing Taiwan on the world stage. At a press conference held by the Taiwan Coffee Association on Thursday, Xie said that creating latte art gives him a tremendous feeling of achievement. Speaking about his entries in
TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: The program is to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks and would start for Taiwanese from January next year Japan is to launch a new program to expedite entry procedures for Taiwanese starting from January next year. The Japanese government is planning to introduce new rules to shorten the time it takes foreign travelers to pass through immigration, thereby attracting more tourists to visit, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday. An airport preclearance program would be implemented to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival, it said. The program would initially be applied to travelers from Taiwan from January next year and could be extended to travelers from elsewhere depending
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final