Former National Assembly Speaker Su Nan-cheng (
The KMT's Evaluation and Discipline Committee unanimously approved the expulsion of Su and immediately sent an official letter to the Central Election Committee (CEC).
Officials at the CEC confirmed they had received the letter requesting Su's expulsion from the National Assembly.
"At the earliest we could convene a special meeting tomorrow, or perhaps within two or three days time, to complete all the necessary paper work,'' said Chen Hsueh-hui (陳雪慧), secretary-general of the CEC.
Su was expelled following the passing of a series of measures in September that amended the Constitution, by extending the term of assembly members by more than two years and replacing future elections with a system of proportional representation.
Su was accused of contravening the party line by allowing assembly deputies to vote for a second time during the second reading of the controversial term-extension amendment, after the motion had failed to pass the first time.
Though the KMT and DPP headquarters strongly opposed the term extensions, deputies of both parties came out in support of the move in the early hours of Sept. 4.
The KMT's Central Standing Committee, the party's highest decision-making body, approved Su's expulsion from the party on Sept. 8.
But legal protection measures in the party constitution allow disciplined members to file an appeal within 30 days, after receiving notice of punishment against them.
Su did appeal to the party's discipline committee with a 20,000 character report on Oct. 19.
But it was not until Oct. 27, when media reports revealed no action had been taken, that there was fierce criticism of the KMT in the press.
As a result KMT headquarters was forced to accelerate the expulsion process by announcing it would convene a provisional disciplinary meeting.
Chien Wei-chang (
"Su tried to shift the blame to party headquarters for its obscure stance on constitutional reform, and to the assembly's caucus leader for lacking strong leadership, while reiterating that what he did was appropriate in his role as Assembly Speaker,'' Chien said.
Chien, however, dismissed Su's words as empty, saying, "It was as clear as crystal, that everyone from President Lee Teng-hui (
Among the participating disciplinary members, Chien said, no-one defended Su's behavior.
On the contrary, several blasted his lack of self-criticism in the appeal. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the party's Central Standing Committee will approve the expulsion order next Wednesday.
It will be the second time Su has been kicked out of the party, having been first expelled for violating a party resolution and running for Tainan City Mayor in 1972, an election he won.
After winning a re-election in 1982 Su was allowed to return into the KMT fold.
While all KMT heavyweights called for the dismissal of Su's party membership, opposition members, including the DPP's Assembly caucus leader, crossed party lines to back up Su.
"The KMT has 180 seats in the Assembly compared with the DPP, which has only 88, so Su is just a referee. It was strange to see such a strong team as the KMT -- who lost the [constitutional amendment] game to us -- punishing Su, rather than the coach [KMT Secretary-General John Chang], or team leaders [such as KMT Assembly caucus leader Chen Ming-jen (
Some cynics said the KMT move was an attempt to protect the party's presidential candidate's credibility and popularity, against charges of cronyism.
"It couldn't be more obvious that the KMT's quick response to Su's expulsion case was meant mainly to prevent further potential damage to Lien Chan's campaign," said Spencer Yang (
"The issue could not be allowed to fester as the result would have affected Lien's popularity rating in opinion polls. That is something he cannot afford," Spencer said.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS