Taipei:Party caucuses in the Legislative Yuan have selected 16 conveners for its eight standing committees, with representation evenly split between the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and opposition parties. The DPP will have eight conveners, while the Kuomintang (KMT) will have seven, and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) will have one.
According to Focus Taiwan, the eight standing committees include Internal Administration; Foreign Affairs and National Defense; Economics; Finance; Education and Culture; Transportation; Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes; and Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene. Each committee is co-chaired by two conveners who have the authority to set meeting agendas and organize both regular and closed-door meetings.
Conveners play a crucial role in the legislative process as they set priorities for the numerous bills awaiting review each session. They hold their positions for one legislative session, with typically two sessions occurring each year.
Historically, when either the DPP or the KMT held a legislative majority, the two convener posts on each committee were divided between the two parties. In the current session, opposition members, including KMT, TPP, and KMT-allied independents, hold a majority on each committee due to their overall majority in the Legislature.
In the new legislative session that began on September 29, the following lawmakers were selected as conveners for the committees Wang Yi-chuan (DPP) and Hsu Chiao-hsin (KMT) for the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee; Lee Po-yi (DPP) and Liao Hsien-hsiang (KMT) for the Internal Administration Committee; Wang Cheng-hsu (DPP) and Chen Ching-hui (KMT) for the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee; Chen Pei-yu (DPP) and Yeh Yuan-chi (KMT) for the Education and Culture Committee; Chung Chia-pin (DPP) and Cheng Cheng-chien (KMT) for the Economics Committee; Lai Hui-yuan (DPP) and Lin Te-fu (KMT) for the Finance Committee; Lin Chun-hsien (DPP) and Chiu Jo-hua (KMT) for the Transportation Committee; and Ngalim Tiunn (DPP) and Chen Gau-tzu (TPP) for the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.