The issue of relocating the Legislative Yuan (LY) out of Taipei remains a hot topic even a decade after it was first proposed, with Taichung the most popular among the proposed locations, legislators said.
Other proposed locations include New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城), Changhua County’s Tianjhong Township (田中) and Yilan County.
Locations in Taipei have also been suggested, including the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the 202 Munitions Works in Nangang District (南港).
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The Legislative Yuan was moved to Taiwan following the Chinese Civil War, and held its first session in Taiwan in Taipei’s Zhongshan Hall before moving to its current location on Zhongshan S Road in 1960.
The Legislative Yuan building was a girls’ high school during the Japanese colonial era, and the legislature’s administrative offices are in what used to be its dormitory.
Over the years, additional buildings were rented or built in the surrounding area, giving the complex a disjointed feel.
In 2012, then-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) proposed moving the legislature to Taichung.
The proposal has since been reiterated by other politicians, including Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), DPP Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書), Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) during his premiership in 2018.
Yang has said that moving the legislature would help spur development in a new location, and has suggested the Chenggong Ling (成功嶺) military training camp in Taichung’s Wujih District (烏日) or the Taiwan Provincial Assembly Memorial Park in the city’s Wufeng District (霧峰).
The Changhua County Government has also pushed for the legislature to be moved to either Tianjhong or Shetou Township (社頭).
Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) has proposed relocating to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, arguing that such a move would help realize the nation’s transitional justice goals, while solving residents’ concerns about land use at the legislature’s current site.
The hall would also be more aesthetic than the current complex, he said.
DPP Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) has proposed moving to the 202 Munitions Works, saying that it would provide adequate space and that its proximity to Nangang Railway Station would make it a more convenient location.
DPP Legislator Wu Chi-ming (吳琪銘) said that the previous site of the Taipei Detention Center in New Taipei City’s Tucheng should also be considered, given that it would offer a large amount of space.
DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀), on the other hand, has said that a move to Yilan would spur development there, and make it easier for the military to protect the legislature in the event of an attack.
National Taipei University College of Public Affairs assistant professor Hong Wei-sheng (洪偉勝) on Saturday said that Taichung would be the most viable place to move to, in terms of national land planning.
However, such a move would make it expensive for officials to report to the legislature, he said, adding that if the Legislative Yuan moved to Taichung, then the Executive Yuan should relocate to Nantou County’s Jhongsing New Village (中興新村).
Tamkang University Department of Public Administration professor Chen Ming-siang (陳銘祥) echoed Hong’s argument that only a comprehensive move of different government facilities would make sense.
However, in most countries, central government facilities are located in a capital city, he said.
National Taiwan University Department of Political Science associate professor Peng Chin-peng (彭錦鵬) said that the legislature has never been moved, despite lengthy discussion on the issue, due to issues over whether Taiwan is a presidential system of government.
Legislators also lack determination on the issue, he added.
“If Taiwan’s current constitutional system is to be maintained, then it really is not necessary to move the legislature. The current complex could be rebuilt if space is a concern,” he said.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) yesterday apologized after the suicide of a civil servant earlier this month and announced that a supervisor accused of workplace bullying would be demoted. On Nov. 4, a 39-year-old information analyst at the Workforce Development Agency’s (WDA) northern branch, which covers greater Taipei and Keelung, as well as Yilan, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, was found dead in their office. WDA northern branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who has been accused of involvement in workplace bullying, would be demoted to a nonsupervisory position, Ho told a news conference in Taipei. WDA Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said he would
RSS