Adding fuel to the spat over the Finance Committee, gangster-turned-independent lawmaker Lo Fu-chu (
Meanwhile, five DPP legislative candidates urged voters to boycott Lo, the self-styled "spiritual leader" of the Tiendaomeng gang, who is expected to seek a third term in Taipei City's southern district and vowed to remove him from the legislature.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
"The entire controversy is a set-up," Lo told reporters in his office at the legislature. "I unwittingly fell into a trap, just as they wished."
Lo, who was banned in April from the legislature for assaulting a female colleague, said that the DPP had deliberately picked a fight with him, hoping to turn public attention away from the slumping economy.
"That explains why the DPP has created a fuss over who should head the Finance Committee," Lo said.
He said that otherwise, the election last week of his lawmaker son, Lo Ming-tsai (
"That explains why DPP lawmaker Tsai Ming-shian (
"He is seeking publicity to boost his showing in the election for Taichung mayor."
It is the third time in two weeks that Lo has appeared in the legislature, though his six-month ban will not expire until Oct. 12. The controversial lawmaker said that by appearing in the legislature, he aimed to stand up to his foes.
He said that "a bunch of rats," fellow lawmakers, had turned the legislature into a circus in his absence.
To restore order, Lo said, he was considering setting up a "rat-busting squad" and disclosing the names of the top 10 villains in each session.
On Wednesday, he threatened to expose the dirty secrets of his colleagues from different parties if they failed to treat his son fairly.
At stake are his and his son's honor and prestige, rather than illicit interests as critics have suggested, the elder Lo contended.
A cross-party negotiation put the ball back in the court of the Finance Committee, which had earlier asked the legislature to decide the matter during its full session.
DPP legislative leader Tsai Huang-liang (
But KMT caucus leader Lee Cheng-chong (
With half of the committee seats under its control, the KMT caucus would try to take two of the three leading berths, Lee added.
Places on the committee, responsible for overseeing the Ministry of Finance and state-owned banks, are among the most hotly contested. A convener is charged with setting the agenda for the committee.
Also yesterday, five DPP legislative candidates -- led by sitting lawmaker Shen Fu-hsiung (
Lo, who was originally elected from the Taipei County constituency, has decided to transfer to the Taipei City south constituency in the election, where the five DPP politicians are running as a team.
The team of five, consisting of Shen, Taipei City councilors Chou Po-ya (
"It is impossible to free the legislature from the influence of money interests and organized crime, as long as Lo remains a member of the assembly," Kuo said.
"These five tigers are clean. There is nothing that can be used as evidence against us. We will block Lo's bid and eradicate that evil cat," Shen said.
"It will not be that easy to prevent me from winning a legislative seat," said Lo, who has yet to formally declare his candidacy. "The so-called five tigers may prove to be five bluffing dogs."
Kuo said if Lo succeeded in his re-election bid, it could create significant problems for the DPP government.
"If Lo could get elected through some unscrupulous means in the Taipei City south constituency, which has the most sophisticated electorate in all of Taiwan, that will pose a crucial test for Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
The five DPP politicians said something had to be done to free the legislature from the control of the "vicious minority power," calling for quick passage of a legislative reform package put forth by the DPP caucus.
According to the proposal, a group must consist of at least 12 lawmakers in order to form a legislative caucus.
Every legislative caucus has the right to send representatives to inter-party negotiations, where most deals are done. A caucus may be formed by as few as five lawmakers.
For example the National Non-party League, led by Lo, is a group consisting of six lawmakers.
In yet another measure included in the DPP reform package, each legislative committee would be entitled to select one convener only, compared with the current three.
As three openings are available in each committee, a lawmaker may currently become a convener with the support of just a small minority of colleagues.
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
POWER PLANT POLL: The TPP said the number of ‘yes’ votes showed that the energy policy should be corrected, and the KMT said the result was a win for the people’s voice The government does not rule out advanced nuclear energy generation if it meets the government’s three prerequisites, President William Lai (賴清德) said last night after the number of votes in favor of restarting a nuclear power plant outnumbered the “no” votes in a referendum yesterday. The referendum failed to pass, despite getting more “yes” votes, as the Referendum Act (公民投票法) states that the vote would only pass if the votes in favor account for more than one-fourth of the total number of eligible voters and outnumber the opposing votes. Yesterday’s referendum question was: “Do you agree that the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant
ENHANCED SECURITY: A Japanese report said that the MOU is about the sharing of information on foreign nationals entering Japan from Taiwan in the event of an emergency The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that Taiwan and Japan had signed an agreement to promote information exchanges and cooperation on border management, although it did not disclose more details on the pact. Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said the ministry is happy to see that the two nations continue to enhance cooperation on immigration control, in particular because Taiwan and Japan “share a deep friendship and frequent people-to-people exchanges.” “Last year, more than 7.32 million visits were made between the two countries, making it even more crucial for both sides to work closer on immigration and border control,” he said. Hsiao