President Chen Shui-bian (
He said Chen might provide a response through his online newsletter rather than giving the legislature a written statement as requested by the opposition.
However, the exact method and timing for the president to report to the people about the scandal involving his son-in-law has not been decided, Ker said.
Ker's comments came as the pan-blue camp took their campaign to oust Chen down south, drawing more than 10,000 supporters in Changhua.
The "A-bian step down to save Taiwan from corruption" rally was the first of three protests organized by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) to be held around the country.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"When a president loses the trust of the people, he can be recalled even though he has not committed any crimes," Ma said, speaking in Taiwanese.
Amid deafening blasts from airhorns and supporters' shouts from a crowd that local police estimates put at more than 10,000 people, Ma outlined the rationale behind the pan-blue camp's decision to launch a recall drive.
The first reason, Ma said, was the need to set a good example for future generations.
"While parents, teachers and grandparents all teach their children to be honest and trustworthy, President Chen never kept his word. His aides and family members trade stock at work and are corrupt," Ma said. "We don't want to teach our kids to do this."
The second reason was to protect the dignity of the Taiwanese. The recent scandals allegedly involving the first family have been covered in the international media including the New York Times, embarrassing all Taiwanese, he said.
More importantly, the pan-blue camp initiated the recall motion for Taiwan's democracy, Ma said.
"The president's job is granted by the people. When he is impotent and has lost the public's trust -- with his approval rating down to 18 percent -- the people have the right to take back the power they granted to him through a recall," he said.
Ma said loss of power and lack of integrity were valid reasons to recall a president and he cited the example of the US gubernatorial recall election that ousted former California governor Gray Davis.
Claiming that the DPP has been "kidnapped" by Chen, Ma challenged the party's continued support for a corrupt president.
"Do President Chen and the first family still have the spirit of integrity and `love for Taiwan' that the DPP espouses?" he said, urging DPP legislators to prove that their party still supports integrity and is against corruption by backing the recall motion.
Echoing Ma's remarks, Soong mocked Chen for "not knowing how to write the word `shame.'"
"If the government continues to be corrupt, there will not be a future for Taiwan. We should not endure such a corrupt government. Let's recall this corrupt president," he said.
Ma and Soong then raised red cards as they pushed down the stage a huge inflated soccer ball that was meant to symbolize the corruption scandals involving the first family.
Meanwhile, the KMT claimed that its signature drive in support of a recall motion has attracted more than 500,000 names.
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