Friday would be acceptable as an official start of the Legislative Yuan’s second session this year, the two largest parties said yesterday ahead of cross-party negotiations today presided over by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) called on the caucuses to be on the same page regarding the official start of the legislature’s second session.
The DPP is prepared to get to work at any time, Wu said.
Photo: Lin Che-yuan, Taipei Times
Friday’s schedule might be affected by promotional events for Disaster Prevention Day the following day, but the details would be hammered out during today’s negotiations, she added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) said that his party also wants to open the session on Friday, but it hopes that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) would present a policy report.
The KMT would propose candidates for conveners of the legislature’s standing committees, Lin said, adding that the party is amenable to sitting down with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to negotiate.
Each of the eight standing legislative committees has two conveners, who set the committees’ agendas each session.
There have been discussions about whether the KMT and the TPP would continue their unofficial alliance in the second session.
TPP caucus secretary-general Vicky Chen (陳智菡) said that her party had advocated starting the session earlier than Friday to review and ratify proposed candidates to head essential government offices, but the proposal was overruled.
While the second session usually focuses on the government budget for the following fiscal year, the TPP has a list of proposed legislation — including on energy issues, economic development — that it hopes to push for in addition to budget reviews, Chen said.
The TPP caucus would ask Cho and other officials from the government to present reports on the issues, she added.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it