News
Lawmakers pass resolution inviting Lai to give address
Lawmakers have passed a resolution inviting President Lai Ching-te to deliver a state of the nation address before the Legislative Yuan. The resolution also requires Lai to respond to lawmakers' questions immediately after the address.
The resolution was proposed by the legislative caucuses of KMT and the Taiwan People's Party and is in accordance with the recently passed amendments to the Law Governing the Legislative Yuan's Power, which were signed into law on 24 June.
It has yet to be decided what form the questioning will take, how many lawmakers can ask questions, the order of the questioning, and party proportionality. Consensus on the matter is expected to be reached after further cross-party caucus negotiations.
However, the Constitutional Court has been asked to rule on whether the president can be questioned by lawmakers under the current constitutional framework - meaning Lai is unlikely to address the Legislative Yuan anytime soon. The Constitutional Court is set to begin hearing arguments for and against the amendments early next month.
In other LY news, lawmakers have passed a non-binding resolution requesting the government lift its ban on China-bound group travel as long as safety and peaceful development can be ensured. The proposal by the KMT and the Taiwan People's Party was accepted after 60 lawmakers voted in favour of it while 48 voted against.
The proposal had been frozen in the LY for a month prior to Tuesday's vote due to no consensus on the issue having being reached during inter-party negotiations.
The resolution also calls on the government to prioritize allowing Chinese tourists to visit Kinmen, Matsu, and Penghu via the current ferry links. Both the KMT and the TPP argue that the opening of the outlying islands to Chinese tourists would be highly beneficial, as their economies rely heavily on tourism.
The DPP is continuing to oppose any lifting of the government's ban on China-bound group travel - saying it's China that does not want to open its border and that Beijing is blocking the resumption of cross-strait tourism-oriented travel.
