Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Court rules against most legislative power reforms

Taipei Times

The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that most of the amendments passed by the legislature expanding its power to oversee the executive branch of government are unconstitutional, including those that would have given lawmakers broader investigative powers.

The ruling dealt a blow to opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators, who used their combined majority to push through the amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) and the Criminal Code on May 28.

The Constitutional Court found revisions that permit investigative committees in the legislature to request information from officials, military personnel and representatives of public or private entities to be unconstitutional.

European Parliament backs Taiwan on UN resolution

Taipei Times

The European Parliament yesterday passed a resolution stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not have any bearing on Taiwan’s participation in the UN or other international organizations, and rejected as unacceptable any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait.

The motion passed by 432 votes in favor and 60 against with 71 abstentions during a plenary vote.

The resolution condemned China’s continued military provocations against Taiwan, including drills around the nation on Monday last week.

Blockade would be act of war: minister

Taipei Times

A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be an act of war and have far-reaching consequences for international trade, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday, after drills by China last week practiced such a scenario.

Beijing has over the past five years staged almost daily military activities around Taiwan, including war games that have practiced blockades and attacks on ports.

China’s latest war games named “Joint Sword-2024B” were carried out on Monday last week, which Beijing said included simulating blockading ports and areas, and assaulting maritime and ground targets.

Examining ‘complete reunification’

Paul Lin 林保華

On Monday morning last week, many Chinese investors woke up anticipating a raft of new stimulus measures to save the Chinese economy during an official Chinese Communist Party (CCP) news conference.

Instead, by about 5am the CCP had launched military exercises surrounding Taiwan. State media announced that China would “completely reunify” Taiwan with its “ancestral homeland.”

The refurbished Liaoning aircraft carrier, which had only days prior returned to its home berth at Yuchi Naval Base in China’s Shandong Province, was rushed back out to sea to traverse the Bashi Channel separating Taiwan and the Philippines to take its position for the exercises.

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