Legislative session opens with mayhem

Upset by the pan-blue camp's obstructions, the DPP caucus condemned the KMT, attributing the political deadlock to an internal conflict within the KMT.

"Today, KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has sent a clear message that he is the real boss of the KMT -- not [Legislative Speaker] Wang Jin-pyng -- even though Ma keeps saying that he respects the autonomy of the KMT caucus," DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said.

"Ma has proven that he has not only changed a lot after taking the KMT's helm, but that he also knows how to manipulate the legislature," he said.

Dismissing the DPP's accusations, KMT caucus whip Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) told Hsieh to apologize for the Thai labor riot and to keep his promise regarding the five commissions of inquiry.

Meanwhile, the clashes inside the Legislative Yuan were matched by protests that took place outside the legislative compound.

Members of an "anti-arms procurement group" voiced opposition to pushing through the arms procurement bill to committee for review, while the Nuke-4 Referendum Initiative Association requested that the legislature lower the thresholds for constitutional amendments and ratification.

Other protesters included the members of the Taiwan Business Bank labor union.

Meanwhile, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday called Ma an "irrational chairman" who indulged KMT lawmakers and allowed them to prevent Hsieh from giving his administration report.

"Ma has changed since he became the KMT chairman. His leadership of the KMT is so disappointing," Su said after the DPP's Central Standing Committee meeting.

"The chaotic legislative session proves that Ma is not a rational chairman," Su said.

"If Ma does not rectify this situation, I believe that the people of Taiwan will spurn the KMT in the elections," the DPP chairman said.

In response to this criticism, Ma yesterday said that "long-winded speeches" -- filibusters -- were one of the strategies often used in democratic countries.

"In democratic countries, the so-called `long-winded speech' is actually a strategy used by opposition parties to force the ruling party to make some concessions," Ma said.

Defending the KMT caucus for using an "acceptable" strategy to express its disagreement with the ruling party, Ma said that the "long-winded speech" measures were not necessarily equivalent to taking over the podium.

"I expect the caucus to take reasonable measures when making a stand against the ruling party," he said.

Additional reporting by Jewel Huang and Mo Yan-chih