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National Assembly has first meeting

Around 300 delegates of the National Assembly yesterday take an oath before the assembly convenes. PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

On the opening day of the National Assembly yesterday, three assembly members from the Democratic Action Alliance (DAA), led by Chang Ya-chung (張亞中), resigned from their posts in protest against what they said was the "ridiculous" procedure leading to the National Assembly's formation and the body having little legitimacy.

Chang, Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) and Huang Kuang-kuo (黃光國) announced on the first day of the National Assembly session that they were quitting and accused major political parties of perfunctorily preparing the constitutional amendment package last year under populist pressure without due deliberation.

The National Assembly will not be short three members, however, as Chang said the three vacant posts will be filled by Sui Tu-ching (隋杜卿), Hsieh Ying-hua (謝瀛華) and Kuo Hung Chin-fung (郭洪金鳳), who will continue protesting while at the same time "monitoring" the meeting for the public.

The National Assembly, elected on May 14, is convening for the sole purpose of approving or disapproving the package put forward by the Legislative Yuan.

It is expected to pass the package as the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) together have more than 80 percent of the 300 seats, and both support the amendments.

Chang claimed that only 19 percent of the public supports the amendment package, while more than three-quarters refuse to endorse it.

This, plus the record low turnout for the May 14 elections, is a clear indication that the National Assembly is lacking legitimacy, he stressed.

Delegates to the National Assembly reported for duty yesterday at the Chungshan Hall on Yanmingshan, suburban Taipei, for their first day of work, with all 296 delegates being sworn in at 11am.

The swearing-in ceremony was presided over by Senior Presidential Adviser Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) of the DPP.

Chanting "oppose voting for the package, rewrite the constitution, rectify the national title and save Taiwan," the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) 21 assembly delegates were the first to collectively register.

Despite the DPP's and KMT's request for a second round of voting if any of their assembly members fail to toe the party line, TSU assembly members and the assembly's acting secretary-general Chien Lin Hui-chien (錢林慧君) said that her party is against the proposal because it violates democratic procedures.

She, however, agreed that the assembly sitting should conclude as soon as possible.

The meeting must not exceed one month, and it is scheduled to last for two weeks.

The People First Party's (PFP) 18 delegates reiterated their resolve to veto constitutional amendments.

Yeh, a member of the steering committee, said that she will respect the final decision of the steering committee for the duration of the plenary session although she hopes it would last as short as possible -- preferably three days.

"If we can finish the job in five days, we don't want to take seven, and if we can do it in one week, we don't want it to take two," she said.

KMT Spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) said that she is confident that all 117 of the KMT's votes will go into the ballot box as one and agreed that the assembly meeting should conclude as soon as possible.

Chen Chin-jang (陳金讓), one of the KMT's four steering committee members, said that he hopes the session would last between three to five days and the ratification voting to take place on either Friday or next Monday.

In a bid to ensure its assembly members to cast affirmative ballots, Chen said that KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正) would come to personally supervise the balloting if necessary.
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