Donovan’s Deep Dives: The battle over the constitution veers sharply into the farcicalThe current legislative speaker lacks the gravitas to force the main parties to negotiate. The Constitutional Court hears oral arguments on the constitutionality of changes to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act at the court in Taipei on May 12. Again, the Constitutional Court was out of action. The KMT caucus yesterday proposed amendments that would allow rulings of the Constitutional Court to be overturned by a public referendum. This requires half of lawmakers to propose, two-thirds of lawmakers to approve and then it would proceed to — you guessed it — the Constitutional Court.

Impeachment is not just a sloganBy John ChengThe public debate surrounding the impeachment campaign against President William Lai (賴清德) has been framed as a clash of political wills: a defiant president versus an aggrieved legislature. This is why the Executive Yuan refused to countersign the measure. Huang, in particular, is well aware that impeachment was designed for clear, egregious abuses of power, not policy disputes manufactured by forcing the Executive Yuan into an unconstitutional corner. A future legislature would learn that it can force the Executive Yuan into an impossible choice: Contravene the Constitution or be accused of doing so. Whether you voted for him or not, Lai is still the president, and impeachment is the most serious step a democracy can take against its own leader.

Industrial production surges 16.42%MORE GROWTH: The manufacturing production index is this month expected to rise up to 16.8 percent, with full-year growth potentially hitting a new high, an official saidBy Meryl Kao / Staff reporterThe industrial production index rose 16.42 percent year-on-year to 119.31 last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) applications that boosted output of information and communications technology and electronics products, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. The manufacturing production index, which comprises 94.63 percent of the industrial production index, increased 17.35 percent to 120.84 last month, recording the 21st consecutive month of annual growth and exceeding the ministry’s forecast of 113.9 to 117.9, it said. In the first 11 months of this year, the industrial and manufacturing production indices rose 16.25 percent and 17.38 percent respectively from the same period last year, ministry data showed. While production momentum for information and electronic products is expected to remain strong this month, traditional industries continue to face intense overseas competition and weak demand, Chen said. The ministry forecast the manufacturing production index in the fourth quarter to rise 15.1 percent to 16.4 percent year-on-year to between 119.91 and 121.25, she said.

Limits of Taiwan’s governance being testedBy Yeh Chieh-ting 葉介庭The limits of Taiwan’s Constitution are being severely tested. After decades of rule under Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son, Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), the president came to be seen as the highest seat of political power. As the president became directly elected in 1996, Taiwan contended with how to divide power and accountability between the president, the premier and the legislature. Taiwan’s constitutional crises are testing the edges of the system. He is an adviser to the International Taiwan Studies Center at National Taiwan Normal University and is the founder of Ketagalan Media.

Suzuki, a former Japanese minister of justice in the Cabinet of former Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba and a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), arrived on Monday with his delegation. From left, Japanese representatives Akihisa Nagashima, Keisuke Suzuki and Junichi Kanda attend a news conference at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taipei yesterday. “We have concluded that to make sure a Taiwan contingency does not happen, we need to beef up our deterrence capabilities,” he said, without elaborating. Asked whether he discussed ways to enhance bilateral defense cooperation during the meetings in Taipei, Suzuki did not give a direct answer. Lawmakers traveling overseas to conduct exchanges would continue despite the lack of official ties between Tokyo and Taipei, he said.

Defense spending, be it part of a regular or special budget, is important, as it shows that the nation is willing to defend itself and fufill its responsibility to regional stability, he said. Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien speaks at an event in an undated photograph. Lawmakers from across the political divide should support adding the defense budget to the agenda of the Procedure Committee, he said, adding that the ministry is open to discussion and oversight regarding the bill. It described a Chinese military that is increasingly sophisticated and resilient, wary of large-scale agreements with the US and learning lessons from Russia’s setbacks in Ukraine as it increases pressure on Taiwan. It describes the goals as achieving “strategic decisive victory” over Taiwan, “strategic counterbalance” against the US, and “strategic deterrence and control” against other regional countries.

Plane crash in Turkey kills Libya’s army chief of staffReuters, ANKARA and TRIPOLIA private jet that crashed on Tuesday, killing Libya’s army chief of staff and seven others on board, had reported an electrical fault and requested an emergency landing shortly before contact was lost, a Turkish official said yesterday. Search teams found the black box of the plane early yesterday, Turkish Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya said. Turkish Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya, center, speaks at the site of a jet crash near Kesikkavak, Turkey, yesterday. Mohammed al-Menfi, head of the Tripoli-based Presidential Council, said that the deputy chief of staff would assume al-Haddad’s duties until a new chief is appointed. Al-Haddad, from the coastal city of Misrata about 200km east of Tripoli, was appointed chief of staff in 2020.

Civic groups, DPP slam stalling of fiscal budgetBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterCivic groups, including childcare advocates, and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday held a news conference at the legislature, condemning the opposition parties for stalling on the passage of next year’s budget, which they said resulted in withholding of funds, halting of subsidies to families and the suspension of public childcare centers. Democratic Progressive Party legislators Rosalia Wu, second left, Lin Yueh-chin, third left, and Chen Pei-yu, third right, pose for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “KMT and TPP legislators telling people that they ‘prioritize bills related to social welfare programs’ is just a lie,” she said. It is aimed at upgrading public childcare facilities and would rely on steady financial support from the central government,” she said. Lin criticized KMT and TPP legislators for prioritizing amending the Nationality (國籍法) and Constitutional Court Procedure (憲法訴訟法) acts, instead of dealing with the fiscal budget, saying that the budget is crucial in realizing welfare programs.

DGBAS warns about budget deadlockDEFENSE JEOPARDIZED? Although the DGBAS has yet to make a formal assessment, growth is estimated to decline by 0.05 percent per NT$10 billion (US$317.7 million) in cuts to government spending, DGBAS Minister Chen Shu-tzu (陳淑姿) told a legislative hearing on the budget fight’s impact on the economy. Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Minister Chen Shu-tzu speaks at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. The deadlock over funding jeopardizes the Ministry of National Defense’s budget of NT$78 billion, an amount accounting for 26 percent of next year’s budget, she said. “The KMT and TPP have opened a gap in the nation’s defenses, gladdened China and disheartened Taiwanese,” Wu said.

Sra Kacaw indicted over alleged illicit payment schemeStaff writer, with CNAChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sra Kacaw has been indicted for allegedly receiving NT$7.11 million (US$225,858) in bribes between 2020 and 2023, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sra Kacaw speaks to reporters before attending a legislative session yesterday. The indictment said that Sra Kacaw had been elected four times as a lawmaker and should have known better. Instead, the legislator from Hualien County took bribes from businessmen and pressured government agencies to help them, prosecutors said. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office launched an investigation in the second half of last year into allegations that Sra Kacaw had received money from businessmen via his assistant beginning in December 2020.

Antibiotic injection recalled after glass fragments found in vials: TFDAStaff Writer, with CNATaiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) has ordered the recall of more than 27,000 vials of an antibiotic injection produced by Yung Shin Pharmaceutical Industrial Co. and purchased by medical facilities around Taiwan, after glass fragments were found in one vial, the agency said. The affected product is Tapimycin Injection Yung Shin, an antibiotic used to treat infections, according to a drug recall notice issued by the TFDA on Monday. The recall involves a single batch, lot number TYI4 T012, after a hospital reported discovering glass fragments in one vial, prompting the recall, said Huang Mei-chen (黃 玫甄), a senior technical specialist with the TFDA. As of now, a total of 27,680 vials from the batch have already been sold, Huang said. Huang noted that the same product was recalled in 2021 after glass fragments were found.

Police officer detained over threats to Taichung mayorBy Hsu Kuo-chen and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writerA female detective assistant with the Taichung Police Department’s Second Precinct was detained on Tuesday night after repeatedly posting threatening remarks on social media platforms and in online groups, the Taichung District Court said. Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen speaks at a news conference yesterday. She later commented on a post on social media platform Threads regarding copycat crimes, in which she directly named Lu in threats involving shooting, prosecutors said. Huang posted the threatening remarks closely after last week’s incident in Taipei, causing fear and panic among those who reported her, city government personnel and the public, it added. Huang’s mobile phone has been seized by prosecutors, and all threatening remarks have been preserved via screenshots, it said.

The MAC slams Beijing’s ‘cross-border suppression’By Chung Li-hua / Staff Reporter, with ReutersThe Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday accused China of engaging in “cross-border suppression and political manipulation,” after a Chinese public security bureau alleged that it was Taiwanese citizens who led a smuggling operation involving a Chinese-crewed vessel that damaged subsea cables earlier this year. Yesterday, the public security bureau in Weihai in China’s Shandong Province said its investigations into the incident showed that two Taiwanese men were behind a multi-vessel operation that was illegally transporting frozen goods into China. The Chinese authorities’ findings came after interviewing seven Chinese crew members of the Hong Tai 58. If the CCP’s Ministry of Public Security has concrete evidence, it can provide that evidence to Taiwan’s law enforcement agencies to cooperate in preventing cross-strait crimes. However, in the absence of concrete evidence, publicly disclosing names and offering rewards is not a civilized approach; it is merely another form of cross-border suppression and political manipulation,” the council said.

Minister promises more proactive foreign policyBy Huang Ching-ting and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan is to pursue and expand ties with like-minded countries to counter Beijing’s poaching, rather than reactively defending existing relationships with diplomatic allies, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said earlier this month. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making a pivot from a “defensive” diplomatic strategy to an “offensive” one, emphasizing developing links with old and new friends, he said. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung speaks in an online show of the Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Dec. 11. Photo: Huang Yun-hsuan, Taipei TimesThat is because the former strategy of passively guarding existing ties against China’s overtures has resulted in a steady loss of diplomatic allies, Lin said. The EU legislative body’s adaptation of the text denouncing the resolution’s misinterpretation stemmed from the ministry’s years of work with the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, Lin said.

Economic ties no longer boost Taiwan-China relations: expertStaff writer, with CNAEconomic ties are no longer boosting cross-strait relations, as Taiwanese businesses continue to shift investment away from China amid deepening US-Beijing decoupling, an expert said at a seminar in Taipei yesterday. Prospect Foundation president Lai I-chung delivers a seminar in Taipei on cross-strait relations yesterday. Photo: CNAThis shift has weakened the traditional role of economic interconnectedness as a "lubricant" in cross-strait relations, he said. Before 2016, trade relations between Taiwan, China and the US were closely intertwined under a model described as "Taiwan taking orders, China producing and products sold to the West," Lai said. However, during the first wave of the trade war in 2018, Taiwanese firms began ramping up investment in Southeast Asia, he said.