Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Fai (
"I feel terribly sorry that a simple on-site inspection turned into such a mess and damaged the KMT's reputation. I announce that I will hereby leave the party and take full responsibility," Fai told a press conference yesterday at the legislature.
Fai blamed himself for the negative impact on KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) election bid and said he would "consider ending his life" if Ma lost the election because of the incident.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Fai had offered his resignation as party caucus whip late on Wednesday night after he and three other KMT legislators -- Lo Ming-tsai (
The legislators, who demanded Minister of Finance Ho Chih-chin (
Fai said he and his fellow legislators went to investigate a claim by a First Commercial Bank employee that Hsieh's camp had occupied the bank's property for free, but the inappropriate timing of the inspection had given the Hsieh camp an opportunity to attack the KMT over the incident.
Ma and KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
In an attempt to prevent the incident from affecting his election bid, Ma, who had spent most of the week campaigning in the south, called a press conference yesterday morning after returning to Taipei, at which he bowed and apologized for the incident.
"I offer my apology to Mr. Hsieh, his campaign staff and his supporters once again. I also want to apologize to the public for the disturbance that was caused," Ma told the press conference.
Ma said that the four had exercised their rights at an inappropriate time using inappropriate methods and promised to restrain party legislators from abusing their power if elected next Saturday.
"The KMT is the majority party in the legislature and our legislators should be more cautious when exercising their rights," Ma said. "If elected, I will make sure that the legislature functions well and party reform will also continue. Any members who oppose or refuse to cooperate with the reform will be eliminated during the reform process."
The KMT's Evaluation and Discipline Committee yesterday announced it would suspend the party memberships of the four legislators for a year.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said yesterday the incident should be put to rest following Fai's resignation, while urging the Executive Yuan to investigate whether or not Hsieh's camp had occupied the bank's property for free.
In response, Hsieh said he doubted whether the KMT could keep Ma's promise and refrain from abusing its legislative majority.
Only "two-party rule" and "a checks and balances system" could prevent such abuses, Hsieh said.
Hsieh made the remarks at a press conference and called on his supporters to remain calm.
"Ma has offered his apologies and that's enough. The point is we don't want to see one-party dominance become a normal thing. Because when the election is over, people's needs are bound to be forgotten under such a situation," Hsieh said.
Responding to the KMT's allegation that the First Commercial Bank had waived the rental fees on his campaign office, Hsieh's team yesterday called a press conference to publicize the details of the lease.
"The lease clearly shows that we rented the first, second, third and 13th floors and the first level of basement from First Commercial Bank," Hsieh spokesman Chao Tien-lin (
Chao said that Ma should ensure KMT lawmakers do not to spread untrue rumors.
When asked for comment, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
"Life is precious, take three minutes to reconsider it again," Ker said, quoting Master Cheng Yen (
Saying that if Ma loses the election it would not be the end of the world, DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (
In related news, Hsieh yesterday morning wore a bulletproof vest for the first time while visiting a Taipei City temple.
A staffer, who wished to remain anonymous, told reporters that the office had recently received an increase in the number of threatening phone calls received.
"Hsieh wore his bulletproof vest at the suggestion of his security agents," he said.
Back at his campaign headquarters in the afternoon, Hsieh took off the vest, joking that he had not yet caught up with Ma, "but it was very close."
Hsieh had previously said that he would wear his bulletproof vest when his support rate caught up with Ma's.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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