In a first, premier refuses to countersign amendments to revenue-allocation law

In a first, premier refuses to countersign amendments to revenue-allocation law

2025-12-15

For the first time since Taiwan became fully democratic, the Executive Yuan has refused to countersign legislation passed by the Legislative Yuan. Premier Cho Jung-tai made the announcement on Monday, saying that the Cabinet would not countersign a controversial amendment to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures. The amendment aims to increase the share that local governments receive from the central government’s revenue. Let’s hear more.

Cho Jung-tai
Premier
The Executive Yuan has exhausted all possible constitutional remedies, and so, we have to resort to this. The Legislative Yuan has lost all control with the dictatorship it has imposed. There is no accountability. There is just one Yuan controlling everything. Should I be brought down as premier due to a vote of no confidence in the Legislative Yuan by the parties that are undermining and violating the Constitution, I would consider that a medal for my defense of democracy. I will become a fighter to protect our Constitution.

Wu Tsung-hsien
Lawmaker (KMT)
Countersigning is a mechanism to make the Premier responsible for the President’s decisions. It’s not a way to give the premier the power of veto. And it is most certainly not a weapon to wield against the Legislative Yuan. They’re making up inventions such as “no countersigning” and “non-implementation.” How is that any different from a dictatorship?

Rosalia Wu
Lawmaker (DPP)
In Taiwan we don’t have a dictatorship led by the Executive Yuan, what we have is a dictatorship led by the Legislative Yuan, which keeps trampling over democratic principles by abusing a numerical majority. If you’re unhappy about the Executive Yuan exercising its authority and not countersigning the bill, then you may proceed with a vote of no confidence in the Executive Yuan.

The Constitution states that the premier must resign within 10 days of a vote of no confidence passed by a simple majority of lawmakers in the Legislative Yuan. Should that happen, the president may also order the dissolution of the legislature and hold elections within the following 60 days. The legislature would be in recess until the newly elected lawmakers take office.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#constitution #legal #politics #government #taiwan

財劃法不副署！嗆立院獨裁卓榮泰:被倒閣的話是我的「民主勳章」

2025-12-15

立法院三讀通過的財劃法修正案，行政院長卓榮泰拍板依憲法37條「不副署」，痛批立法獨裁、無人可管，一院獨大，更喊話在野有意見可以倒閣，身為行政院院長，如果被一個違憲亂政的國會提出不信任，那將會是他畢生的民主勳章。

[[行政院長卓榮泰]]
“行政院已經窮盡憲政救濟的各種可能，而今只剩下不副署這一途徑。這次立法的獨裁，無人可控制、無人可管，一院獨大，身為行政院院長，如果我被一個毀憲亂政的國會跟政黨，提出倒閣不信任，那將會是我畢生的民主勳章，我願意成為護憲的鬥士”

[[立委(國) 吳宗憲]]
“副署是讓行政院院長，對總統的決定負責，不是院長的否決權，更不可能拿來當作對付立法院的武器，發明了個名詞叫不副署、不執行，那請問一下，這跟獨裁國家有什麼兩樣”

[[立委(民) 吳思瑤]]
“在台灣沒有行政權的獨裁，只有立法院的獨裁，一直以席次多數暴力，來踐踏民主原則，如果不滿意，這個行政權依憲法所發動，所行使不副署的權力，那您可以依憲法的授權，也來採行不信任案的投票，來進行倒閣”

依照憲法，國會發動不信任案，只要半數立委同意，閣揆就要在10天內辭職，但總統同時可以要求解散國會，60日內舉行立法委員選舉，在新選出的立委就職前，視同休會。

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Taiwanese food guide introduces Japanese cuisine and dining etiquette

Japanese cuisine is renowned around the world and one of the highlights of traveling to Japan. One Taiwanese person living in Japan works as a food guide and has become close with several famous chefs throughout the years. She gave up her corporate lifestyle to move to Japan and start a new career, becoming a bridge connecting Taiwanese people with Japanese cuisine.

Fresh abalone and shrimp are transformed into delicious sushi by master chefs with the practiced skill of many years. From the insightful explanations of Hu Chia-wen, a Japanese food guide from Taiwan, people learn the secrets behind this famous cuisine.

Takaaki Sugita
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Although there are a lot of food guides introducing Japanese restaurants, Ms. Hu Chia-wen is passionate about the same things as us chefs. She has tremendous passion for culinary culture and philosophy.

Hu studied abroad in Japan and spent years working in public relations at a major cosmetics brand. She left her corporate lifestyle behind and moved to Japan 20 years ago, where her love of Japanese cuisine led her to become a food guide.

Hu Chia-wen
Food guide
After I quit my job and moved to Japan, I studied restaurant planning and food design. It wasn’t until I met Ms. Hsu Hsin-yi and she gave me the chance to explain Japanese cuisine that I really started down this path.

Hu rigorously studied Japanese cuisine and dining etiquette so that her culinary tours would help participants immerse themselves in local culture. This level of professionalism earned her high praise from one of Japan’s most famous sushi chefs, Jiro Ono.

Jiro Ono
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There are few people on this Earth as good as her. If she sees me outside, she will run over to say hello. She is the woman we have the most confidence in.

Yoshikazu Ono
Sushi chef
When Ms. Chia-wen is introducing cuisine, she carefully explains the dining method and table etiquette, paying close attention to every detail. People eat with great care and follow proper etiquette.

Voice of Hu Chia-wen
Food guide
I hope to continue being a bridge, connecting the passion of Taiwanese people with the refinement of Japan. I believe that food is not just for satisfying the appetite, it is the breath of culture. In the past 20 years I’ve walked a small trail, but I hope one day it will become a boulevard.

Using cuisine as a bridge to connect cultures is Hu Chia-wen’s dream. She hopes that through her efforts, more people will be able to experience the magic of Japanese food.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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Retired old wind turbine blades are reborn as badminton rackets

Taiwan has been developing wind power as a new form of green energy. But ironically once the massive wind turbine blades involved are decommissioned, they pose a serious threat to the environment whenever they’re buried or incinerated. Now, in a major breakthrough, they have been successfully recycled to become badminton rackets using unique technology in a collaboration between National Chung Hsing University and Swancor.

Decommissioned wind turbine blades are no longer a threat to the environment. They have been recycled and repurposed, with a new lease of life as carbon fiber badminton rackets.

Shen Ming-yuan
National Chung Hsing University
By creating plastic granules containing carbon fibers, we can use plastic injection molding technologies, which are very mature in Taiwan, to make a racket.

This is the world’s first badminton racket made from recycled carbon fiber from discarded wind turbine blades. It was created through collaboration between wind power giant Swancor and National Chung Hsing University.

Shen Ming-yuan
National Chung Hsing University
The unstrung racket weighs about 88 grams and its carbon fiber content is about 40%.
One kilogram of plastic granules containing carbon fiber can produce about 10 to 11 rackets.

The hard composite material of wind turbine blades is now being separated into carbon fiber known as “black gold” through a unique microwave pyrolysis technology, giving waste a new life.

Tsai Hsiao-te
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We can take our blades after they have been cropped and trimmed. We remove the carbon plates inside, our “black gold”, and then microwave them. The resulting product is essentially recycled carbon fiber. By using technologies from National Chung Hsing University, we’ve successfully used these recycled fibers in downstream applications.

Giant wind turbine blades have become badminton rackets. A Taiwanese company and academia have joined forces to transform troublesome environmental waste into a new favorite on the sports field.

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1,000+ queue overnight for LNY blessing lanterns at Longshan Temple

Temples usually offer lanterns for blessings, and Taipei’s Longshan Temple is no different. The lanterns are lit on Lunar New Year’s Eve and are believed to offer blessings of one’s choice for the year ahead. On Monday, Longshan Temple began taking in-person registrations, limited at 800 slots a day for three days. But that wasn’t enough for the 1,000+ worshippers queuing overnight. The temple said it might consider adding more slots, and urged people to register and pay online so they won’t have to wait in the cold weather.

It’s already past midnight and only 10 degrees, but several hundred are already lining up outside Taipei’s Longshan Temple.

At 6 a.m., the temple opens its gates. The crowd is eager to get in to register for a lantern to light up on Lunar New Year’s Eve. The first worshipper in line has won the coveted first spot for 15 consecutive years.

Worshipper
First in line
I started queuing on the 9th. I’m mainly queuing for the medic’s lantern. It offers protection from illnesses. Also the lantern for peace. It’s to keep the whole family safe from harm.

Temple authorities began taking in-person registration for lantern lighting on Monday, starting with 800 slots every day until Wednesday. All 800 slots for the first day of registration were snapped up within half an hour. Many left empty-handed.

Tseng Hsien-chu
Longshan Temple
There will be more people on the first three days, so we’re allocating 800 slots a day for now. If all goes well, we may add on another 200 so that there would be 1,000 slots in total for each day.

Earlier, the temple already offered online registration and payment so people won’t have to wait out in the cold, but some older adults still opted for in-person registration and queued overnight.

Worshipper
Queued in person
Yes, it’s available online, but you need a credit card. I don’t have a credit card, and I find it troublesome to get one, so I queued in person.

Worshipper
Queued in person
We older people don’t know how to do it on the Internet, so it’s really inconvenient. We have no other option but to get up really early to be in line.

Meanwhile, the temple authorities say they will try to add on more slots for in-person registration so that all worshippers will get to light a lantern of their choice.

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Increased bear sightings prompt Shei-pa park to ban food waste

Black bears have been spotted more frequently in Shei-pa National Park in recent years, especially in the Guanwu area. The park office says they’re likely Formosan black bears, whose population has been on the rise. As the weather cools and food becomes harder to find, they expand their habitat in search of food. The park urged people to always take food waste with them out of the park to prevent attracting bears close to the trail.

Around here, in front of Cika Cabin, a hiker saw a black bear between the trailhead and the cabin.

Bears usually live in uninhabited, remote mountainous areas. As long as they’re far enough away from humans, they don’t bother each other. But recently, black bears have been sighted not far from a trailhead in Shei-pa National Park.

Yu Shu-fen
Park conservation director
In the past two years we’ve seen them in the Xueshan area. Five years ago, we had actually never caught a black bear on camera, but within the last five years we’ve seen quite a few.

Seeing more black bears is a sign that conservation efforts are succeeding and the population is rising. But they may be wandering close to the trail because hikers leave behind food scraps.

Yu Shu-fen
Park conservation director
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When a black bear hears this sound, it will slowly move away. In the area we are in now, about 1.2km to 1.3km into the Xueshan trail, a foreign hiker previously reported seeing a bear.

A bell hung on a backpack will sound as the hiker moves, alerting black bears to their presence. This gives bears time to move away, preventing close encounters.

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Tourist
Visiting from China
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Tourist
Likes the statue
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Tainan culture official
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Cheng Po-hui
FTV reporter
These adorable sculptures are tucked away in Tainan’s alleys. But already someone stole an element from one of the sculptures.

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Huang Ya-ling
Tainan culture official
It is a very serious act. When we found out, we immediately reported it to the police.

The sculpture barely lasted two months, and the Cultural Affairs Bureau is deeply saddened. Besides reporting the theft, officials plan to replace the missing part with one made with a different material.

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