President William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday approved the Cabinet's request to return a set of contentious legislative reform bills to the legislature, which could hold a final vote on Tuesday next week at the earliest.
The changes to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) and the Criminal Code were passed by opposition lawmakers voting in the majority on May 28.
The Executive Yuan on Thursday last week formally decided to return the legislation to lawmakers for reconsideration pending approval from the president, a power afforded to it under the Additional Articles of the Constitution.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Lai at 11am on Tuesday sent the approved proposal back to the Cabinet, while the Presidential Office secretary-general notified the Legislative Yuan of the decision, office spokesperson Kuo Ya-hui (郭雅慧) said.
The president carefully considered the Cabinet’s reasoning and decided to approve its constitutionally afforded right to return the legislation, Kuo said.
He hopes all parties will carefully scrutinize the content of the bills and reach a consensus that is legal, constitutional and prioritizes national interests, Kuo added.
Article 3-2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution stipulates that if the Executive Yuan finds a bill passed by the Legislative Yuan difficult to execute, it can within 10 days of receiving it request the legislature to reconsider the bill, provided it has the president’s approval.
The legislature is required to convene at most seven days after receiving the request and vote on whether to uphold the passage of the bill within 15 days.
More than half of all sitting legislators — or a minimum of 57 votes in the current legislature — must vote yes to uphold the bill.
If the legislature fails to reach a decision within this period, it would become invalid.
The soonest the legislature could reach a conclusion is on Tuesday next week.
Additional reporting by CNA
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with