The legislature yesterday refused to take up a proposal to turn PFP lawmaker Diane Lee (
DPP Legislator Peter Lin (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"The bill will be set aside due to protest [from PFP lawmakers]," ruled Vice Legislative Speaker Chiang Ping-kun (
Under legislative rules, opposition from a single lawmaker suffices to block the introduction of any extraordinary bills.
Lin said he would ask his colleagues to endorse his initiative and file it through regular procedures next week.
"The legislature will have trouble defending its decision today if the court finds Lee guilty of libel later," he said.
Earlier, Twu, acting head of the Department of Health, filed libel suits against Lee and her constituent Cheng Ko-jung (
The two had mistakenly accused Twu of making forceful sexual advances on Cheng during a KTV party on Aug. 6.
Lin said he will carry on with the campaign to punish Lee and her PFP colleague Yang Fu-mei (
Yang said she could not provide any evidence of the sexual encounter as she learned of it through the grapevine.
TSU lawmaker Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said that malignant rumormongers such as Lee and Yang should be punished. He noted that the legislature stood behind Lee when she was physically attacked by former independent colleague Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) in March last year.
"Lo Fu-chu was later suspended from the legislature for six months. Now Lee should face the consequences of her mistake in a gracious manner," the TSU legislator said.
Lee, while apologetic, has showed no intention of stepping down in the face or pressure to do so.
She did not make any public appearances yesterday. Aides said she was making preparations for a court hearing today.
Observers say it is unlikely for the legislature to adopt any disciplinary measures against Lee, as her party and the KMT have vowed to kill any such proposal.
Together, the two caucuses enjoy a slight edge, 19-17, in the Procedure Committee where the legislative calendar is decided.
PFP Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華), elder brother of Diane Lee, said his sister, gripped by a deep sense of guilt, has slept very little for the past week. He called on her critics to be forgiving, saying his sister is generally recognized as one of Taiwan's best lawmakers.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit
HOSPITAL VISITS: Shin Kong Mitsukoshi pledged to give the families of the four people who died NT$11m each and provide support for staff working at the time The central government would assist local governments to enhance public safety, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as he visited people in hospital who were injured in an explosion at a department store in Taichung on Thursday. A suspected gas explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang department store in Taichung at 11:33am on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 36. Of the 40 casualties, 39 were hospitalized, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed. Three died after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the data showed. As of 6am yesterday, 25 of those injured had been discharged from hospital, leaving 11
RSS