A third recall motion against President Chen Shui-bian (
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) minority on the Procedure Committee failed to block the motion from being put on the agenda.
If the agenda is approved on the floor of the legislature on Friday, a vote on the motion would be scheduled for Nov. 24.
"Don't bother pushing for the motion as Chen has said that he would leave office if [his wife] were found guilty of corruption in the first trial," DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-fang (
Pan-blue lawmakers, however, disregarded his opinion.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) urged the pan-green lawmakers not to miss another "historic moment" to give the people a chance to voice their opinion on first lady Wu Shu-jen's (吳淑珍) indictment.
A recall motion requires the backing of two-thirds of all sitting legislators to pass. Passage of the motion would initiate a national referendum on whether Chen should resign.
A simple majority of all voters who cast ballots would trigger the dismissal of the president.
The first two recall motions against Chen failed due to opposition from the pan-green camp. TSU lawmakers cast unmarked ballots while their DPP colleagues boycotted the votes.
The new push by the pan-blue camp to recall the president comes in the wake of the announcement by Taipei District prosecutors last Friday that Wu and three presidential aides would be indicted on various charges related to abuse of the president's "state affairs fund."
Prosecutors said they had collected evidence against Chen as well but could not indict him at this time because presidents enjoy legal immunity from prosecution while in office, except in cases of sedition.
After initially agreeing to back the third recall motion, the TSU on Monday reversed its stance after Chen's televised speech last Saturday rebutting the indictments.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the caucus remains opposed to the recall bid. The caucus will meet to reach a consensus on the third recall motion before the legislature votes, he said.
DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) told reporters yesterday that he is in favor of returning the decision-making power of the vote to legislators.
However, he said debate on the motion should be postponed until the investigations into other local government chiefs' special allowances have been completed.
DPP Legislator Hou Shui-sheng (
DPP Legislator William Lai (賴清德) said he believed that once the party makes a resolution in its Central Standing Committee meeting today, DPP members would all follow its decision.
Meanwhile, the Procedure Committee voted yesterday to place the long-stalled bill for Chen's nomination for the nation's top prosecutor onto the legislative agenda.
The president has nominated Chen Tsung-ming (
However, the long-stalled supplemental budget for partial funding of the purchase of the P-3C maritime patrol aircraft, the upgrading of PAC-2 anti-missile batteries, and the design of new submarines, as well as for building an airstrip on Taiping Island, was blocked again by pan-blue lawmakers.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
also see stories:
Presidential Office in crisis: Chen slams bad design of funds
Presidential Office in crisis: DPP facing biggest challenge in its 20-year history
Presidential Office in crisis: Wu's trial could drag on: experts
Presidential Office in crisis: KMT queries Chen's claim
Presidential Office in crisis: Presidential Office says foreign media misinterpreted Chen
Presidential Office in crisis: US to remain an interested observer
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2