The 10th ROC (Taiwan) Legislative Yuan was sworn in Feb. 1 in Taipei City, with a total of 113 legislators including a record setting 47 female lawmakers taking up their positions.
The newly elected legislators undertook their first duties by electing former Premier Yu Shyi-kun as legislative speaker with 73 votes, while Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Chi-chang was chosen as deputy speaker with 65 votes.
According to Yu, his term will see an open, professional parliament committed to reform and development based on the principles of pluralism and rationalism. The next four years will include a commitment to working across generational lines to better serve the people’s needs, he said.
Following the Jan. 11 legislative elections, the DPP holds a majority in the chamber with 62 seats, ahead of the main opposition Kuomintang on 38 seats. They are followed by the Taiwan People's Party, 5 seats; New Power Party, 3 seats; Taiwan Statebuilding Party, 1 seat; and independents, 4 seats. (TYT-E)