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KMT thwarts bills aimed at Ma, assets

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), with help from the People First Party (PFP), adjourned yesterday's plenary legislative session, thwarting two key bills.

The plenary session was supposed to review a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) initiated amendment to the President and Vice President Election and Recall Law (總統副總統選舉罷免法) that would prevent any individual convicted in a corruption case from registering as a presidential or vice presidential candidate.

The amendment was aimed at preventing former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) from running in next year's presidential election, should he be convicted on corruption charges for which he is now standing trial.

The pan-blues also sought to block a Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) proposed bill designed to recover the KMT's stolen assets.

In order to block review of the two bills, the KMT proposed adjourning the plenary session. The adjournment effectively extends to next Tuesday, pushing the two bills back to the legislature's Procedure Committee.

The DPP caucus asked for a vote to prevent the adjournment proposal, but the motion to adjourn passed with 100 votes in favor and 97 against, out of the 198 legislators present at the session.

The KMT's victory, which had 84 of its 90 sitting legislators present, was a result of the support of 11 out of the total 21 PFP legislators, and five of the eight Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU) lawmakers.

The DPP, whose 84 legislators were all present, and all 12 TSU legislators lost the bid, despite support from one independent legislator.

The PFP, which formerly said it would not get involved in the matter, threw its support behind the KMT at the last minute during yesterday's session.

After his caucus' failure to stop the session from adjourning, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told reporters that the PFP changed its stance because the KMT had made an effort to cooperate with its smaller ally in the upcoming legislative elections.

"The blocking of the amendment will only ruin the KMT's future ... How could a person indicted on corruption charges represent the nation?" he added. "We are very sorry that the KMT has dug its own grave."

Meanwhile, the TSU caucus had harsh words for the pan-blue camp, saying that the two opposition caucuses had resorted to "majority violence."

"We need clean politics, and the president should be a role model," TSU Legislator Kuo Lin-yung (郭林勇) told a press conference.

"It will be a joke on a global scale if we elect a corrupt president," TSU Legislator Liao Pen-yen (廖本煙) added.

KMT legislative whip Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍), meanwhile, said that "laws should apply to the general public. ... However, this amendment is obviously targeted at Ma."

Executive director of the PFP caucus' Policy Committee, Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交), said the event served as a lesson learned for the KMT, adding that he hoped the KMT would keep its promises to the PFP.

Prior to the session yesterday, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) told the press that he personally disapproved of the DPP's proposed amendment, because it seemed tailor-made for one individual.

"However, we still have to deal with the amendment in accordance with stipulated procedures, because lawmakers are entitled to introduce bills," he said.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan

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