Controversial amendments to the Spatial Planning Act (國土計畫法) yesterday advanced to committee review, despite a united effort by opposition parties to vote them down.
Opposition lawmakers objected to a motion tendered by the Executive Yuan that would advance the amendments it proposed last month to the Internal Administration Committee for a preliminary review.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the Taiwan People’s Party and the New Power Party caucuses filed a countermotion to return the bill to the Procedure Committee, which was put to a vote.
Photo: Chien Jung-feng, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬), who was instrumental in getting the act passed in 2015, abstained, while DPP Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) voted for the motion to be stricken down.
The motion was vetoed 58-41.
DPP caucus secretary-general Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) later said that Kao told him she mistakenly voted in favor of the motion.
Shortly after the draft amendments were unveiled, environmentalists called for them to be scrapped.
At the heart of the controversy are two proposals that would allow local governments to indefinitely postpone submitting regional spatial plans, and give the Executive Yuan the right to revise national or regional spatial plans to make way for “major construction projects.”
The proposed amendments have sparked concern that they could encourage excessive development at the cost of environmental protection.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said that the Executive Yuan had not attempted to “sneak in” the draft amendments amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as some people have claimed.
The bill was submitted because an April 30 deadline for the submission of regional spatial plans by local governments is approaching, and only 10 of 18 local governments who need to turn in a plan have done so, she said.
The proposals are not meant to “let local governments who have not submitted a plan off the hook,” she said.
The caucus plans to submit its version of the amendments during a committee review and set an extended deadline for local governments to submit spatial plans, instead of allowing them to procrastinate indefinitely, she said.
It would clearly define the scope of “major construction projects” approved by the Executive Yuan, and limit them to green energy, agricultural and cultural projects, she said.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS