The move to recall President Chen Shui-bian (
Severe damage islandwide in the wake of Typhoon Xangsane, the Singapore Airlines crash and protesters demonstrating about the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, prevented the legislature from addressing the recall, lawmakers said.
In the end, the bills which would need to be passed before the president could be recalled were postponed until next Tuesday.
The two laws scheduled to be reviewed next Tuesday are the Law Governing Legislators' Exercise of Power and amendments to the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Law (
As rumors circulated that the postponement represented a display of goodwill to the president on the part of the opposition parties, lawmakers from those opposition parties were united in their effort to scotch any such suggestions, stressing that their determination to recall Chen remained intact.
"Efforts to push for the recall motion [against the president] will be continued," said KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung (
KMT caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (
KMT Legislator Chen Horng-chi (
DPP lawmakers did not take yesterday's change of the legislative agenda as a cause for optimism. But a DPP lawmaker told the Taipei Times that rumors of divided views within the opposition parties were not groundless.
"KMT lawmakers told me that the move would be slowed down in a bid to stabilize the country's political climate. They said it was true that the timing of the announcement [of cessation of construction of the power plant] indeed left plenty of room for discussion, but that that was not solid enough grounds for a president to be recalled," said DPP lawmaker Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁).
"They [KMT legislators] said they did not endorse the recall motion voluntarily .... They were under pressure from the party. They also told me that if the president would exhibit any amity toward opposition parties, they would consider putting the motion aside temporarily," Chen said.
Another primary reason for yesterday's change of agenda, according to Chen, was the KMT authorities' displeasure at seeing the alliance formed between KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
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