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 (
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.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
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 (
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 (
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 (
Chen Chin-jang (
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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