The opposition-launched campaign to recall President Chen Shui-bian (
The president is not required to respond to such a request, and as of press time last night, the Presidential Office had not released a decision on whether or how it would respond.
On the opening day of the special legislative session yesterday, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and its ally the People First Party (PFP) used their legislative majority to schedule a review of the recall motion for June 21, 22, 23, and 26, with a vote on the motion on June 27.
PHOTO: SAM YEH, AFP
The pan-blue camp's motion passed with 113 affirmative votes to 96 dissenting.
The motion is considered unlikely to pass given the high threshold required -- two-thirds support in the legislature and a majority of eligible voters in a nationwide referendum -- but the pan-blue camp hopes to force Chen to resign through the campaign.
The pan-green camp, aiming to shorten the special legislative session, hoped to schedule a vote on the recall motion on June 22, but that was vetoed by the pan-blue camp.
Pan-blue legislators yesterday formed several teams to occupy the chairman's platform and aisles in order to preempt pan-green camp legislators' attempts to block the proceedings by occupying the legislative floor.
Yelling "A-Bian step down, protect Taiwan's integrity," the pan-blue lawmakers displayed banners and wore white clothes with slogans written on them. Realizing its numerical disadvantage, the pan-green camp did not try to launch a filibuster, but only chanted catchphrases and argued with pan-blue lawmakers.
No major physical clashes happened yesterday.
In the light of the result on the recall vote, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Wang said that he had no idea whether Chen would respond, while some pan-blue camp lawmakers suggested that Wang should invite Chen, first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and other family members to attend the legislature's upcoming review sessions.
Wang said that this suggestion should be decided through cross-party negotiations, and that he had no right to unilaterally make such a request to Chen.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
DPP caucus whip Yeh Yi-jin (
The president is still considering whether to file a rebuttal to the recall motion, the Presidential Office said in a statement yesterday.
In related news, the PFP yesterday decided to cancel its Friday rally in Taipei and instead hold public presentations in central and northern Taiwan to boost support for the recall motion.
PFP Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng (
Chan said the KMT plans to hold a public presentation in Changhua on Sunday and another in Taipei on June 25.
Also see story:
Experts say right of recall is an outdated mechanism
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