The People First Party (PFP) caucus said yesterday that it supports a campaign to recall the president for ethical and political reasons, not for judicial reasons.
The PFP caucus made a distinction between a political leader's moral and political responsibility and his legal responsibility, as President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) senior aides and close relatives are being investigated in a spate of corruption scandals.
PFP caucus secretary general Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that since last year, members of the first family have been found to have been involved in 21 corruption cases.
"Even though no evidence in these cases implicates the president himself, he has lost public trust," he said. "The PFP has been advocating his recall because we think he should take moral and political responsibility."
Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), the PFP caucus convener, said that even if the judicial authorities can prove the president's roles in some criminal offenses, no one can do anything about it, given the constitutional protection of the president.
Only by keeping up the pressure through a recall campaign can the public "restrain" the president from further allowing his top aides and family members to engage in irregularities and remind him of the seriousness of the situation, Lu said.
He called on Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma has been reticent about the campaign to recall the president, saying that Chen himself is so far not a suspect in any wrongdoing and so it's not an appropriate time to begin such a campaign.
Lee and Lu criticized the KMT for withholding the names of 39 KMT legislators who support KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung's (
"What's the purpose of not allowing party members to [join] the recall motion?" Lee asked.
He warned Ma not to misread public opinion and said that anger over the government's corruption will not dissipate with judicial probes.
Ting proposed his motion to recall Chen on the floor of the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday.
Ting listed 10 reasons for recalling the president, including Chen's decision to cease the operation of the National Unification Council, his alleged violation of the Constitution, the cheap sale of state-owned properties and "sitting idly by while watching corruption scandals erupt one after another."
Despite the withholding of some KMT signatures, the proposal has collected enough support from pan-blue camp lawmakers to meet the one-quarter requirement for review in the 221-seat legislature.
For the recall motion to succeed and Chen to be sacked, Ting's bill would need the approval of two-thirds of legislators and 50 percent of eligible voters in a national referendum.
also see stories:
KMT group urges Chen to resign
Legislator who quit DPP tells Chen to follow his lead
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft