President William Lai (賴清德) has approved a Cabinet request for the legislature to reconsider recently passed revisions aimed at expanding its oversight of the executive branch.
In a news release, Presidential Office spokeswoman Kuo Ya-hui (郭雅慧) said that the office yesterday morning notified the Cabinet and the legislature of Lai’s decision, adding that the president looked forward to “a broad consensus on the amendments’ legitimacy and constitutionality” once lawmakers re-examined the bills.
The amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) and the Criminal Code were passed on May 28 by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers, who have a combined majority in the legislature.
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
However, the Cabinet on Thursday last week said that it would ask the legislature to reconsider the amendments on the grounds that they were “unconstitutional” and “difficult to implement.”
The measures would give the legislature investigative powers and allow it to hold hearings, which include potentially imposing penalties on public officials and other individuals if they refuse to attend or provide information, or give false testimonies.
Other measures would require that the president present a “state of the union” address at the Legislative Yuan and take questions from legislators.
Although the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) opposes the revisions, it had advocated for increased oversight of the executive branch while in opposition.
However, the party has sidelined the issue since coming into power in 2016.
Meanwhile, KMT and TPP lawmakers maintain that the revisions followed due process and are necessary reforms, particularly in light of allegations of corruption and wrongdoing relating to several major DPP government policies and investment projects.
Under Article 3-2 (2) of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, if the Executive Yuan determines that a bill passed by the Legislative Yuan is difficult to execute, it can, with presidential approval, request that the legislature reconsider it within 10 days of receiving the bill.
Within 15 days of receiving the Cabinet’s request, the legislature must vote on whether to uphold the bill’s passage. If it fails to reach a decision within that period, the bill would be void.
Upholding the bill requires the consent of more than half of all sitting legislators, or a minimum of 57 votes in the current legislature.
If a minimum of 57 lawmakers support the revisions, the president would then be required to sign them into law.
Should that happen, the Cabinet, or DPP lawmakers, might seek a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the revisions.
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,
RSS