Opposition confused about bills
Opposition confused about billsBy Chang Bao-yuan 張葆源The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have worked in cahoots to try and force through legislative reform bills. The “state of the nation address” motion alone reveals that the proponents have lost all sense of constitutional awareness. The Legislative Yuan on Tuesday last week completed the second reading of Article 15-1 of the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法). However, consider a scenario in which the president has already presented his speech to the Legislative Yuan, but must subsequently step down. Just how many speeches does the president need to deliver to satisfy the demands of the KMT and the TPP?
Source:Taipei Times
May 30, 2024 03:41 UTC
EDITORIAL: Voters must make the right choices
EDITORIAL: Voters must make the right choicesThe legislature, dominated by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), on Tuesday passed controversial legislative reform bills that have been criticized as unconstitutional, while tens of thousands of citizens surrounding the legislature called for more transparency. The statement said the bills are unconstitutional and trample on the powers of the Control Yuan and the Judicial Yuan. Dissatisfaction with the KMT was 57.3 percent, while dissatisfaction with the TPP surged to a record 53.7 percent. The Executive Yuan has announced it would return the bills to the legislature for reconsideration and the DPP caucus is to seek a constitutional interpretation. More importantly, Taiwanese should make the right choices in the next election to safeguard democracy with checks and balances.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2024 21:42 UTC
Guardrails would stop anarchy in legislature
The UK Parliament possesses high constitutional status and great authority, but it cannot abuse its powers. First of all, a legislative reform bill is not a small deal. In Taiwan, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) has his own political stance and remains in the KMT, and this lacks neutrality. The KMT and the TPP should withdraw the proposals, or the legislature might face dissolution and realignment. Although discontentment from the public has yet to reach this level, whether the legislature would soon face dissolution is hard to tell.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2024 16:47 UTC
KMT, TPP pass controversial measures
Protesters react to the passing of controversial bills outside of the Legislative Yuan building in Taipei yesterday. DPP lawmakers had waved bubble tea-shaped torches, shouting: “Brush your teeth, your breath stinks” at their KMT colleagues, a reference to what they said are opposition lies about the bill. Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers, front rows, protest at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei TimesThe KMT holds 52 seats in the 113-seat legislature, while the TPP has eight and the DPP has 51. Protesters have dubbed their movement the “Blue Bird Action” — named after the road next to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei where they gathered.
Source:Taipei Times
May 28, 2024 17:13 UTC
Cast the democracy vandals out
Cast the democracy vandals outBy Liu Shih-ming 劉熙明The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have disregarded procedural justice and disguised their attempt at a power grab as legislative reforms, which has sparked a public outcry. The protest has been called the Qingniao movement (bluebird movement, 青鳥運動), named after Qingdao E Road (青島東路) where the protest took place. Protestors in the Qingniao movement behaved in a peaceful and rational manner. Therefore, those who participated in the Qingniao movement should not be pessimistic. Taiwan’s next local elections are to be held in one-and-a-half years, which would allow eligible voters to teach these democracy vandals a lesson.
Source:Taipei Times
May 28, 2024 16:47 UTC
Guermantes Lailari On Taiwan: Invest in Talented Youth for National Security and Resilience
Guermantes Lailari On Taiwan: Invest in Talented Youth for National Security and ResilienceTaiwan has a motivated, talented, and dedicated workforce, but is it good enough to keep Taiwan strong, resilient, and safe from China’s expansionist dreams? Taiwan would benefit from examining other countries’ methods for enhancing national resilience through a national human resource development program (NHRDP). Currently, Taiwan does discover talented young citizens in order to further develop national security and national resilience. Furthermore, research indicates that when these individuals complete their national service, they enter the business world and develop new innovative capabilities through start-ups that enhance national resilience not only in economic security but also in national security. With increased national wealth from a NHRDP, Taiwanese could be proud of their government’s actions to address these shortfalls while increasing Taiwan’s national security and its national resiliency.
Source:Taipei Times
May 27, 2024 03:47 UTC
India has an election transparency problem
The blame for that falls squarely on the organization responsible for ensuring a free and fair poll: the Election Commission of India. Nor has it released complete polling data, as it did in 2019. Considering that all of India’s voting is electronic, this information is readily available. The election body also sought to show that polling figures were updated in previous years as well. The commission is “not legally bound to publish any voter turnout data” for a constituency, state or phase of election, it said in its letter to the Congress Party.
Source:Taipei Times
May 26, 2024 16:51 UTC
Foundation urges halt to proposed amendments
Foundation urges halt to proposed amendmentsBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNAThe Judicial Reform Foundation yesterday urged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to halt the Legislative Yuan proceedings immediately on the grounds that their proposed amendments for legislative reforms could be illegal and unconstitutional. The legislature had passed the second reading of amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) on Friday last week, Tuesday and Friday. The foundation said in a statement on Friday night that the drafts submitted by the KMT and the TPP contained multiple points of contention and that the version of the amendments could be unconstitutional. Lawmakers participate in a session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Friday. The foundation urged rational dialogue and said that it supported legislative reforms, but could not condone the passage of amendments without due deliberation.
Source:Taipei Times
May 25, 2024 20:08 UTC
Opposition is brazenly moving the goalposts
Opposition is brazenly moving the goalpostsBy Liu Che-chia 劉哲嘉When exactly did Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) join the blue camp? They are brazenly moving the goalposts. We all know that the Legislative Yuan is a place where political parties confront each other. The Constitution of the Republic of China says that the Legislative Yuan does not have investigative rights. In terms of fines, the Legislative Yuan should also file a motion to the court to impose sanctions, and the decisions should not be made by the Legislative Yuan itself.
Source:Taipei Times
May 25, 2024 17:25 UTC
Cross-party dialogue is crucial to restore trust
In spite of the widespread anger, the KMT and the TPP still voted to pass the second reading of the amendments. Many still condemn the opposition for refusing to publish the details of the amendments on the Legislative Yuan Web site, undermining the democratic system. President William Lai (賴清德) also called on the Legislative Yuan to function properly in his inaugural address on Monday. He said that while competition among political parties is inevitable, cross-party cooperation is needed to avoid unnecessary conflict. Hopefully, with continued public supervision, the three parties would eventually opt for cooperation over competition, and work out solutions that can minimize public discontent.
Source:Taipei Times
May 24, 2024 21:45 UTC
The Hindu-Muslim split is not the most dangerous divide in India
The Hindu-Muslim split is not the most dangerous divide in IndiaBy Mihir Sharma / Bloomberg OpinionIndia’s weeks-long election is drawing to a close. In fact, tensions between Indian states might be even more dangerous. The message to Bengalis: The BJP is a north Indian party with no respect for our culture, and they would bring violent ways of life from other Indian states to our door. The southern state of Kerala has a human development index approaching that of China, Brazil or Mexico, while many north Indian states score closer to the poorer parts of sub-Saharan Africa. For decades, multiethnic India has enjoyed healthy political competition at the state and federal levels, as well as messy political alliances between north, west, south and east.
Source:Taipei Times
May 24, 2024 17:54 UTC
President Lai vows to safeguard Taiwan
President William Lai, front, center, gestures as he visited a military camp in Taoyuan yesterday. Photo: Ann Wang, ReutersOf the Chinese coast guard ships, four were detected off the east coast of Taiwan, three were off the southeast coast and nine were in waters near Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, he said. “Unlike China’s previous military exercises around Taiwan, it did not give precise longitudes and latitudes in which military exercises would be held, nor did it announce no-fly zones,” he said. President William Lai, third right, is shown a FIM-92 Stinger dual mount system while inspecting a military base in Taoyuan yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration said that it dispatched seven ships and 16 boats to help dispel Chinese coast guard ships off the north and east coasts.
Source:Taipei Times
May 24, 2024 12:09 UTC
Guatemala affirms support for Taiwan on Japan visit
Guatemala affirms support for Taiwan on Japan visitBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterGuatemala reaffirmed its support for Taiwan during a meeting between Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Ramiro Martinez and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa on Wednesday. After attending President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration ceremony in Taiwan on Monday, Martinez’s delegation left for Japan on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of the Presidential OfficeArevalo told Lai that he looked forward to further strengthening the friendship between Taiwan and Guatemala, he added. Martinez made particular mention of Taiwan, saying that “Guatemala’s support for Taiwan remains unchanged” and that next year would mark the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two sides, it said. A decline in Taiwan’s international presence could have an impact on Japan’s security, which is why Japan attaches great importance to Guatemala, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 24, 2024 03:34 UTC
Google picks southern Indian state for smartphone production
Google picks southern Indian state for smartphone productionBloombergGoogle plans to invest billions of dollars in India’s Tamil Nadu state to set up smartphone production, picking the southern industrial province for its manufacturing push in the country. Its Wing subsidiary will also assemble drones in Tamil Nadu, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Photo: AFPA team from the Tamil Nadu government, comprising Minister for Industries T.R.B. Indian news Web site Moneycontrol earlier reported Google’s plan to manufacture in Tamil Nadu. Google said last year it will begin production of its Pixel 8 smartphones in India, without disclosing a location.
Source:Taipei Times
May 23, 2024 18:07 UTC
India determined to end title drought at T20 event
India determined to end title drought at T20 eventAP, NEW DELHIIn the ever-growing T20 cricket landscape, India boasts the richest and most-watched league in the world. Rohit Sharma’s India squad travel to the T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean in search of a second title to end a long drought. Photo: AFPHowever, since the advent of the IPL, India have not lifted the World Cup trophy. After winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, India have only reached one more final — losing to Sri Lanka in 2014. Sharma has been a part of every India squad at the T20 World Cup.
Source:Taipei Times
May 23, 2024 17:55 UTC