The government could seek a constitutional interpretation if lawmakers vote down its motion to reconsider legislative reform bills today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.
Cho made the comments during a session at the Legislative Yuan on the eve of today’s floor vote on the motion, which is expected to be rejected by the opposition parties’ combined majority.
The legislature is urged to give serious thought to discussing the merits of the bills and ensure their consistency with other legislation and its acceptability among Taiwanese, he said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The bills would amend the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) and the Criminal Code, authorizing lawmakers to call private citizens and officials to testify at investigative hearings or face fines and — in the case of officials — jail time.
The government does not rule out seeking a constitutional remedy to overturn the laws should the Legislative Yuan insist on passing them, Cho said, adding that officials would make the move after consulting lawyers and academics.
The remedies include asking the Constitutional Court to rule on the legislation and calling for a temporary injunction to suspend promulgation until judges settle the matter, he said.
Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) said the bills are an overreach, as the legislature’s ability to conduct investigations is a subsidiary power and must abide by Constitutional Interpretation No. 585.
The interpretation stipulates that the Legislative Yuan may not extend its investigative power to a matter “related to the independent exercise of powers by an organ of the state ... guaranteed by the Constitution.”
“An executive chief, by the authority inherent in his or her executive powers, is entitled to decide not to make public any information that may affect or interfere with the effective operation of the executive branch,” it says.
The bills broaden the legislature’s power beyond its constitutional scope and empower lawmakers to arbitrarily impose penalties on private citizens for refusing to comply with their demands to testify, Cheng said.
The ministry deems the proposed laws to be “profoundly inappropriate” and believes their promulgation would lead to “social upheaval,” he said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) said the bills would enable lawmakers to impose penalties on officials for the crime of “counter interpellation,” a word that does not exist in legislative rules or law books.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers gave the phrase varying and mutually exclusive definitions, including providing an irrelevant answer, responding to a question with a question and being mean, she said during the session.
DPP Legislator Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said that the bills’ provisions authorizing fines of up to NT$100,000 for people who refuse to testify dwarfs the punishment for not appearing before a court after being served with a subpoena, which carries at most a NT$30,000 fine.
KMT Legislator Wang Yu-min (王育敏) said that the government had given “conflicting” statements, as Cho had previously voiced support for legislative reforms.
Cho’s comments suggesting that the amendments lacked restrictions were incorrect, as hearings could only be held on “important matters concerning the public,” Wang said.
The amendments merely sought to address the long-standing problem of insufficient oversight of the executive branch, she added.
Additional reporting by Chen Cheng-yu
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
The arrival of a cold front tomorrow could plunge temperatures into the mid-teens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Temperatures yesterday rose to 28°C to 30°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and 32°C to 33°C in central and southern Taiwan, CWA data showed. Similar but mostly cloudy weather is expected today, the CWA said. However, the arrival of a cold air mass tomorrow would cause a rapid drop in temperatures to 15°C cooler than the previous day’s highs. The cold front, which is expected to last through the weekend, would bring steady rainfall tomorrow, along with multiple waves of showers
RSS