With the Legislature opening session on Tuesday, the DPP, KMT, and TPP are in full preparation, discussing the draft bills they will be promoting in the meeting. Given the fierce offensive and defensive battles between the ruling and opposition parties during the budget session, this bill session is attracting much public attention.
DPP Caucus Secretary-General Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that their party’s priority bills focus on the three major points of economic development, expanding care, and strengthening resilience. These include the Statute for Industrial Innovation, the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act, the upgrade of the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act, and the Artificial Intelligence Fundamental Act. Wu emphasized that she hopes the ruling and opposition parties can focus on the livelihood issues affecting the citizens.
The KMT is discussing a total of 13 draft bills that will be promoted in the new session, seeking a universal stimulus payment of NT$10,000 (roughly US$306) due to the overcollection of taxes, long-term care, increased penalties for fraud crimes, and amending the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act to facilitate safety and extension of use. The party is also prioritizing raising holidays to the level of law, amending the Housing Act to further benefit the disadvantaged, changing Taiwan’s Nuclear-free homeland policy to a “zero-carbon homeland” policy, and more. KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that people's livelihood and economy are the focus of this session.
The TPP announced that it is seeking cooperation between the government and opposition parties in bills also related to citizen livelihood and national development. Priorities include improving virtual asset management regulations to ensure the virtual trading market is subject to legal management, reducing the risk of fraud, increasing local government financial resources via the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures, and amending or abolishing outdated laws such as the Stamp Tax Act and Amusement Tax Act.
TPP Legislator Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) said she was pleased to see that the KMT also listed long-term care as a priority bill and looks forward to the smooth passage of this reform. In addition, she pointed out that all three parties have proposed tax exemption for women's sanitary products. TPP Legislator Lin Kuo-cheng (林國成) emphasized that there is also consensus on the amendments to labor protection fund allocation and subsidies. Lin underscored the importance of rationality and pragmatism and said he hopes that the ruling and opposition parties will cooperate to ensure that reforms can be truly implemented.