Sat, Nov 04, 2006 page1

• Pan-blue camp vows to oust the president, legally

  • By Shih Hsiu-chuan, Mo Yan-chih and Jimmy Chuang / STAFF REPORTERS
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  Pan-green lawmakers yesterday may have reacted with shock to the indictment of first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), but their pan-blue counterparts were gleeful, vowing to launch a third recall motion against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), should he refuse to step down.

  The pan-blues also demanded Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and his Cabinet's resignation because the premier was designated by the president.

  "It's a day of infamy for the Republic of China ... We feel great sorrow and indignation," People First Party (PFP) Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) told a press conference.

  If Chen persisted in staying in his post, the ruling and opposition parties would be deadlocked from this point forward and could never reconcile, Liu said.

  "If Chen has a sense of shame he should resign immediately," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) told a press conference.

  After learning that Wu had been indicted, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) called a press conference, with chairman Shu Chin-chiang (蘇進強) saying that his party would throw its weight behind a third recall motion.

  "The president should know that now it's time for him to leave office," Shu said.

  TSU Legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said the party cast unmarked ballots during the last two recall votes because it couldn't vouch for Chen's integrity.

  A recall or an impeachment motion requires the backing of two-thirds of all sitting legislators to pass. As only 220 seats are currently filled in the 225-seat Legislative Yuan, that means 147 legislators would have to back a recall or impeachment for it to pass.

  If all 90 KMT lawmakers, 22 PFP lawmakers and 12 TSU lawmakers voted in favor of a recall or impeachment, they would still need 23 votes.

  The Non-Partisan Solidarity Union's eight lawmakers generally vote with the pan-blue parties. Among the three independent lawmakers, Li Ao (李敖) often vote with the pan-blue parties. The other two are former DPP members,they generally vote with the DPP.

  Therefore, a minimum of 12 of the 85 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators would also have to back a recall or impeachment motion in order for it to pass.

  Passage of an impeachment motion then requires approval from the Council of Grand Justices to dismiss the president, while passage of a recall motion would initiate a public referendum on whether Chen should step down.

  The public referendum requires a simple majority of all voters who cast ballots to approve the dismissal of the president.

  KMT response

  After an impromptu Central Standing Committee meeting to discuss the issue last night, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said if Chen did not step down within the next 48 hours, the KMT caucus would propose a recall motion against Chen on Monday, put the proposal on the legislative agenda on Tuesday, put the proposal before a legislative review on Nov. 10 and finally vote on the motion on Nov. 25.

  Ma added that the party had not ruled out impeaching the president.

  In a separate press conference yesterday, Ma called on the DPP, as the ruling party, to take the initiative and to demand that the president offer his resignation.

  "The ruling party should put its house in order and show some self-reflection. The DPP should not miss the historic timing. It should bravely take responsibility and urge the president to step down," he added.

  Declining to say what the KMT would do next, Ma said that it was the president and the DPP's time to act.

  PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday also urged Chen to step down immediately, while calling on prosecutors to start another investigation into Chen's family and top aides over possible corruption.

  Soong echoed Ma in urging the DPP to take the initiative and propose a recall motion against Chen.

  "The DPP should apologize to the people with morality and courage, and demand that A-bian step down. It should also respond to public opinion by initiating a recall motion against Chen," Soong said during a press conference in the Legislative Yuan.

  Soong also suggested that the ruling and opposition parties should hold a summit to seek a solution to the "current constitutional crisis." He also said that although the Constitution requires the vice president to succeed an ousted president, [vice president Annette] Lu [(呂秀蓮)]should make sure she acted only within the bounds of her constitutional authority.

  Soong said the PFP would first negotiate with the KMT, and would propose a recall motion against Chen if he refused to step down, with the possibility of also trying to impeach him.

  Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday came under attack in the legislature after saying that the president should not step down unless the final verdict in the case has been reached.

  KMT Legislator Huang Teh-fu (黃德福) asked Su whether he would "persuade" the president to offer his resignation now that prosecutors' investigation into the "state affairs fund" has achieved a result.

  "An indictment is not a decision that a suspect is guilty. Whether or not the president should resign is a problem we should talk about after judges reach their final verdict, not now," Su said.

  Pan-blue lawmakers said the comment was "unacceptable."

  "When [the first lady] Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) was charged, we didn't ask Chen to resign and uphold the highest moral standard, but the minimum judicial standard," KMT Legislator Hung said.

  On the legislative floor, Su was faced with previous comments he made that "the president should resign if any of his family members or himself has been involved in any corruption-related scandal."

  PFP Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) called on Su "not to forget what he had said before in the legislature," urging Su to persuade Chen to step down.

  Su's comment had been made in response to KMT Legislator Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) on Oct 24.

  Pan also asked Su "Do you agree whether Chen should resign if he or Wu are involved in the `state affairs fund' scandal?"

  Su replied "That's right."

  Yesterday, Su tried to downplay the comments.

  "I can only say that my remarks were seriously twisted," he said.

  The premier confirmed that he had met with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday morning before going to the Legislative Yuan to talk to lawmakers, but Su did not elaborate on the specifics of the conversation he had with the president.

  KMT rally

  The party is due to hold a large-scale rally this afternoon in Kaohsiung to urge Chen to step down followed by another tomorrow in Taipei.

  Meanwhile, the campaign aimed at ousting Chen yesterday joined the opposition camp in condemning the president, urging Chen to step down immediately.

  Returning to its protest site in front of the Taipei Railway Station at 7pm to celebrate the result of the investigation with protesters, campaign leader Shih Ming-teh (施明德) led the crowd in shouting "A-bian step down!"

  "This is our history ... We want A-bian to step down immediately," Shih said yesterday.

  Shih later led the protesters on a "walk" from the station to Ketagalan Boulevard.
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