GOVERNMENT
NSB general impeached
All 13 Control Yuan members voted to impeach National Security Bureau (NSB) Major General Hsieh Ching-hua (謝靜華) for allegedly assaulting a woman in February. The case is to be handed to the Disciplinary Court for trial, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Hsieh was found to have forcibly kissed a woman on a sidewalk, it said. The scene was caught on camera and revealed by the press. The watchdog said that Hsieh had consumed alcohol before the incident, adding that he had lied during the NSB investigation, which led to the agency providing false information to the public. Hsieh had violated the victim and damaged the reputation of NSB special agents, the Control Yuan said. NSB personnel faced higher scrutiny and are held to higher standards than other public servants due to the nature of the agency’s national intelligence work, it added. The NSB in a statement said that it respects the conclusions reached by the Control Yuan and would cooperate with the Disciplinary Court trial. The bureau also pledged to boost the training of its personnel and said that any misconduct would be handled appropriately.
LEGISLATIVE YUAN
Session extended to Jan. 21
The legislative session would be extended to Jan. 21 to allow for the passing of the delayed budget bill and other contested legislation, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) said on Wednesday. The Legislative Yuan meets twice a year, from February to May and from September to December, with the option to extend sessions if necessary. Since the second session started on Sept. 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party lawmakers, who together hold a majority of seats, have repeatedly blocked the Cabinet’s NT$3.33 trillion (US$102.32 billion) budget proposal. They say that the budget failed to include funding for changes made by the legislature earlier this year, and demanded that the Cabinet revise and resubmit the plan. The Democratic Progressive Party on Nov. 7 ceded to their demands following a meeting between Cabinet officials and legislative leaders.
CRIME
Case judgement sought
Prosecutors have requested a summary judgement against a Kaohsiung woman who earlier this year allegedly called the 110 emergency number multiple times in the middle of the night to insult police officers. A court filing by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office said that the 57-year-old woman, surnamed Lin (林), made nine calls to police using the 110 emergency hotline between 2am and 4am on Aug. 6. In her first call, Lin said she wanted to file a police report. When the officer on duty inquired about details, she asked him if he had “forgotten to bring his brain to work,” the filing said. The officer then played Lin a recording informing her that calling 110 without justification and ignoring subsequent warnings could be punishable as a crime against public order, at which point she hung up, the filing said. Soon after, Lin called the hotline again, swearing at the officers on duty and referring to them as “animals” and “garbage,” it said. Officers from the Kaohsiung Police Department’s Sinsing Precinct arrested her on suspicion of obstructing an officer. Prosecutors said Lin’s actions had contravened Article 140 of the Criminal Code and requested that the Kaohsiung District Court issue a summary judgement against her, as the facts of the case were not in dispute. Obstructing a public official is punishable by a prison sentence of up to one year or a maximum fine of NT$100,000.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party