Contempt of legislature and giving false testimony during a legislative inquiry should be punishable offenses, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said on Monday.
Following a party meeting, KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) said that the public wants reform to allow greater legislative oversight of the government.
The party’s proposed measures would make the legislative speaker and deputy speaker election an open ballot, normalize presidential reports to the legislature, give the legislature more of a say on personnel appointments at critical government agencies and bolster the legislature’s powers of inquiry.
Photo: CNA
The KMT said that the Criminal Code and the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) should be amended to mandate that answers provided by those being questioned in the legislature be focused and to the point.
Those being questioned must provide a response or information as long as it would not harm national security or confidentiality, it said.
False statements and other actions would be deemed to be contempt of the Legislative Yuan, the proposed amendments say.
The speaker or a legislator asking the questions would have the option to request that punishment be applied in cases of contempt, with the votes or signatures of at least one-fifth of the attending lawmakers required to approve action, the proposed changes say.
The fines would be NT$20,000 to NT$100,000 and failure to retract or correct falsehoods could accrue subsequent fines, they say.
Extreme cases could be referred to the courts, with those found guilty facing up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of NT$300,000, they say.
The president should present a “state of the nation” report to the legislature on Feb. 1 every year and attend a Legislative Yuan session on March 1, the KMT said.
New presidents should deliver a report within two weeks of their inauguration and appear before the Legislative Yuan within a month, it said.
Legislators would be able to ask the president questions about the report and the president should respond immediately, the proposed amendments say.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) told reporters that legislative reforms should give power in accordance to the body’s responsibilities.
Reforms should not expand legislative power, as the public would not stand for it, Wu said.
The KMT’s proposals are an attempted power grab, she said, adding that based on the party’s performance in the legislature, it is hard to tell whether government officials should hold legislators in contempt or vice versa.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,