Fracas disrupts Taipei City Council session

The debate over the proposed delay of the Taipei borough-warden elections came to a head yesterday as DPP and KMT Taipei City councilors scuffled at the city council.

The confrontation occurred when a DPP protest on the council floor before a speech by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) deteriorated into a pushing and shoving match as city councilors from across party lines crowded around the central podium, hurling accusations at one another.

Ma's governing report was delayed by 45 minutes because of the fracas.

With placards in hands, DPP city councilors had stood in unison on the center meeting floor before Ma was scheduled to speak, to protest an amendment to the Autonomous Regulation Governing the Taipei City Borough Organization that was pushed through by the council's KMT majority last Wednesday.

The amendment postpones the city's borough-warden elections -- originally scheduled for June 8 -- until after a reshuffling of the boroughs is finalized.

DPP city councilors have charged that the amendment violates the Public Officials Election and Recall Law (選罷法) and is a ploy by the KMT to benefit Ma's re-election bid.

The scuffle did not end until Taipei City Council Speaker Wu Bi-chu (吳碧珠) summoned council security to help restore order.

Ma remained at the podium throughout the fracas.

When he was able to deliver his report, Ma defended the need to reshuffle the boroughs.

"The main purpose of this amendment is to improve the un-equal resources appropriation among the city's boroughs," he said.

DPP councilor Lo Chung-shen (羅宗勝) then asked why the city had neglected the issue until now.

In response, Ma said that the city government had not neglected the matter, as he "has been wanting to reorganize the city's boroughs since 2000, after realizing the seriousness of the problem."

Ma said that the best time to reorganize the boroughs is before the borough-warden elections.

"If we don't do it this year, some boroughs will have to endure another four years of unfair re-source appropriation."

Ma insisted the amendment was not politically-motivated and that the city government has done everything regarding the matter in accordance with the law.

"The whole issue has been misunderstood by many people," he said. "I hope everyone will come to look at it with a rational attitude."