President Chen Shui-bian (
Presidential Office spokesman David Lee (
When the pan-blue alliance proposed its recall motion in June, Chen declined to issue a rebuttal statement directly to the legislature, but responded in a public address to the nation.
Chen is not obliged to respond to a recall motion.
The Law Governing Legisla-tors' Exercise of Power (
While no discussion is needed, the legislature must complete the review of the proposal 15 days after the proposal is placed on the legislative agenda. The legislature must notify the government official threatened with a recall to present a written rebuttal seven days before the review. The legislature can still proceed to discuss the case if the official in question refuses to comply.
The consent of two-thirds of lawmakers must be obtained to pass the proposal.
The recall motion must then be put to a referendum and the approval of more than half of all eligible voters must be obtained for it to pass.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun on Monday night invited Presidential Office Secretary-General Mark Chen (
The three agreed to recommend that President Chen not issue a statement to defend himself and that DPP lawmakers not attend the review process nor cast their votes.
In a related development, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday suspended their efforts to push through their versions of motions to recall President Chen.
KMT Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆), one of the initiators of the party's two versions of the recall motion, said the suspension meant that the party had put its plans for a third recall motion on hold.
But DPP legislators condemned the move as hypocritical.
"As the second recall motion sponsored by the People First Party (PFP) will be put to the vote next Friday, it means nothing for the KMT to put its own recall motions on hold," DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said.
KMT Policy Coordination Department Executive Director Tseng Yung-chuan (
The procedural committee had its first meeting of the new session yesterday.
Long-stalled bills pertaining to a budget for arms purchases from the US, a review of the president's nominations for the Control Yuan and the position of state public prosecutor-general, and many non-political bills concerned with people's livelihoods were all blocked once more.
According to the committee, about 50 bills sponsored by the Executive Yuan, the DPP and the Taiwan Solidarity Union failed to be put onto the legislative agenda.
"Don't we have bills which are more important than the recall motion to review? A recall motion failed three months ago. Is President Chen a different person from who he was three months ago?" DPP Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (
Tseng said the KMT would not allow the NT$6.2 billion (US$193 million) arms bill to pass through the procedural committee unless its pre-decessor, a bill requesting a NT$480 billion package, is withdrawn.
With regard to the bill pertaining to nominations for the Control Yuan, which has been sidelined since the term of the body's previous members expired in January last year, Tseng said the party would not consider it unless the president came up with new candidates.
Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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