Chen mulling statement to public: Ker

The party said it expected to get 1 million signatures before the legislature votes on the recall motion on June 27.

In related news, the safety of the KMT's boss was a concern for Changhua police yesterday amid fears he might be the target of an assassination. Several pirate radio stations in the south were raided last week as part of an investigation into allegations that their talk show hosts had encouraged people to threaten Ma.

While Ma said he would not overreact to the alleged threats, more than 40 policemen surrounded him when he arrived at the rally and he wore a bulletproof vest.

Outside the rally, a group of pan-green supporters threw water balloons at pictures Ma and KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) before being asked to leave the area by police.

Meanwhile, the entire legislative is scheduled to begin reviewing the recall motion on Wednesday.

Ker rejected the pan-blue camp's request that the media be allowed to broadcast the review process live, saying there was no precedent for such coverage.

He also dismissed a pan-blue plan to hold a "testimony-style hearing" at the legislature where legislators from both sides could debate the recall motion. He ridiculed the plan as pointless because "none of the legislators is the president."

DPP caucus whip Chen Ching-Jun (陳景峻) also said such a hearing would be illegal.

Legislator Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津), chief secretary of the DPP caucus, said that the legislature must review the recall motion in accordance with the law and that "no gimmicks should be allowed during the process to turn it into a media event."

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