Chen says he won't respond to opposition recall

The DPP yesterday passed a resolution at its central executive committee meeting saying that the DPP supports the president's decision not to submit a rebuttal to the recall motion, DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said.

Prior to the president's official announcement of his decision regarding the rebuttal, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said it would be "the arrogance of power" if the president insisted on not responding to the motion.

"President Chen should defend himself in response to the recall motion even though he is unhappy about it and is unwilling to do it. It's his chance to defend himself, as well as a sign of respect to the Legislative Yuan," Ma said.

Ma said that responding to the recall motion is Chen's right and obligation. He urged the president to respect the legislature by responding to the motion.

"He can give up his own rights, but he can't give up his obligations," he added.

Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih and Jewel Huang

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