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NDC minister says companies concerned about new LY powers
National Development Council Minister Paul Liu says companies are concerned about the unclear wording of the recently passed parliamentary reform bills granting the Legislature power to demand corporations share information when asked.
The amendments stipulate "legal persons", which includes corporations and "related individuals among the public," will be fined if they refuse to provide information demanded by the Legislature during its investigations and hearings.
According to Liu, he has spoken with "some companies in private" and they believe the ambiguous language in the amendments may require more concrete regulations in terms of its implementation.
The NDC says although it remains to be seen if the bills will result in foreign enterprises showing a reluctance to invest in Taiwan, the government is planning to take steps to "help facilitate communication if they face difficulties."
The KMT is seeking to play down the concerns with lawmaker Zheng Tien-cai saying the amended law stipulates investigatory powers "shall not go beyond the purpose and boundary of the investigation" and an investigative committee must be set up following due process and "only if there was believed to be corporation-government collusion," would such power be exercised.
Zheng went on to say that companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will not face such problems.
In related news, Justice Minister Cheng Ming-chien says only his office has the legal right to reestablish the Special Investigative Division. The statement comes as the KMT is seeking to either re-establish the SID, which operates under the Ministry of Justice, or set-up a so-called "opposition counterpart the Special Investigative Division." That follows passage earlier this week of the series of parliamentary reform bills.
According to KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi, the division will work to crack down on corruption by government officials. However, the justice minister says central and local prosecutors' offices already exercise the powers of investigation and prosecution, and there is no need for the SID to be revived.
The SID was established under the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2007 and abolished in 2017. It had the authority to open investigations into the president, vice president, the heads of government agencies, ministerial-level officials and high-ranking members of the armed forces.
