The KMT's Evaluation and Discipline Committee yesterday decided to expel four legislators who repeatedly acted against the party's will during the just-concluded legislative session.
The committee also ruled that the membership rights of two other legislators will be suspended for two years, while seven others will be admonished.
Chen Kang-chin (
"A small minority of legislators, despite the long-term cultivation they have received from the party, have been tempted by other parties that resorted to unscrupulous means," Chen said.
"Their conduct has not only violated the party's discipline but has also done serious harm to the party," he added.
Those who were punished yesterday were members who disobeyed the party's orders in five ballots in the last legislative session.
These include the three ballots for Examination Yuan president and vice president, grand justices and Control Yuan members last week, in which the KMT ordered its legislators to boycott the nominations.
Also on the list is the Feb. 1 elections for Legislative Yuan speaker and vice speaker, in which KMT legislators were required to vote in favor of the party's candidates. The other is the Feb. 19 ballot on reconsidering the KMT-proposed amendments to the Law Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), in which the legislators were instructed to uphold the amendments.
Those expelled were Lin Pin-kuan (林炳坤) and Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁), who were cited for four violations; Lu Shin-ming (呂新民), who was cited for three violations and Yang Wen-hsin (楊文欣), who was cited for two violations.
The four legislators all voted in favor of Yao Chia-wen's (
The membership rights of Lin Chin-chun (林進春) and Lin Nan-sheng (林南生) are to be suspended for two years.
According to Chen Kang-chin, Lin Chin-chun, who has had three violations in those five ballots, was not given as severe a punishment as the other four because he was the only one voting against Yao.
As for Lin Nan-sheng, Chen said, the committee thought that he was forgivable since he has publicly expressed his remorse for his conduct over the past few days.
Though Lin Nan-sheng was involved in only one case, his vote was considered crucial, contributing to the confirmation of Yao's appointment. The KMT legislative caucus had originally recommended that Lin be expelled as well.
The seven who received admonitions were all first offenders. They are Tseng Hua-te (曾華德), Yang Jen-fu (楊仁福), Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟), Chen Ken-te (陳根德), Chen Hung-chang (陳宏昌), Tseng Tsai Mei-tso (曾蔡美佐) and Chen Li-hui (陳麗惠).
Chen Kang-chin said his committee will report its decisions to the party's Central Standing Committee today, before referring them to the branch offices the lawmakers belong to.
The legislators have the right to request a review of the decisions within one month after they receive an official notification of their punishments, he said.
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