The meeting between President Chen Shui-bian (
The bill was blocked from being put on the legislative agenda for deliberation because of objections from the KMT and People First Party (PFP), which between them dominate the legislature's Procedure Committee.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Chi-fang (
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Ma shouldn't allow the KMT to continue blocking the bill in the legislature, Tsai said.
"Would you please advise Ma in the KMT's Central Standing Committee that he should not make empty promises," Tsai told the KMT legislators.
Pan-blue legislators yesterday also rejected a bill to review the president's nominations for the Control Yuan, which has been blocked since Feb. 1 last year.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
After a meeting between Ma and PFP Chairman James Soong (
Commission candidates are named by political parties in proportion to their number of seats in the Legislative Yuan.
While the pan-blue camp yesterday also shot down other bills that had been initiated by the pan-green camp, the Procedure Committee did pass the bill to amend the March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee Statute (三一九槍擊事件真相調查特別委員會條例) with the aim of reestablishing the committee.
The amendment was approved for its second and third reading in the legislature next Tuesday.
Although bills are usually only tabled in the legislature when there is consensus among all legislative caucuses, the amendment was sent to the legislature despite failing to gain the support of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).
TSU Legislator Ho Min-hao (
KMT caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (
In other developments, a pan-blue proposal to repeal the government's reform plans for the preferential 18 percent interest-rate scheme for retired teachers and civil servants was also passed for discussion next Tuesday.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
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