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.
‘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
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
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