The legislature is likely to vote on Saturday on a no-confidence motion against Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) initiated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), which accuses him of incompetence in leading the Cabinet.
On the first day of the second session of the Eighth Legislature yesterday, the DPP and TSU demanded that Ma name a new premier.
It is unlikely that the DPP-TSU motion will succeed, as they together hold only 43 seats, far short of the required threshold of half of the 113 lawmakers needed to pass a proposal to topple Chen.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The People First Party (PFP) is not supporting the motion.
In its proposal, the DPP and the TSU listed 10 reasons why Chen should be removed, saying that he has failed to exert the authority the Constitution confers on the premier to lead the Cabinet, but has instead acted as a “puppet” of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Chen was scheduled to present a policy speech to the legislature in the interpolation session yesterday. With the motion tabled, the session was called off.
“Replace the Cabinet to rescue the economy. Replace the Cabinet to salvage Taiwan,” pan-green lawmakers’ chants and banners on the floor said.
The Executive Yuan is the highest administrative branch of the country, as stipulated in Article 57 of the Constitution, but the Chen Cabinet is completely dominated by Ma, with Cabinet agencies reporting directly to Ma, not Chen, and the Cabinet is deprived of its power to make decisions on policy, the DPP-TSU proposal says.
“The Sean Chen Cabinet is a puppet Cabinet, the weakest in history,” DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said.
In accordance with Article 3 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution and Article 37 of the Act Governing Exercise of Rights of the Legislative Yuan (立法院職權行使法), which stipulates that 72 hours after a no-confidence motion is made, an open-ballot vote must be taken within 48 hours, lawmakers scheduled a vote on the matter for 10am on Saturday.
The last time a vote of no-confidence against a premier was held was in 1999, when the opposition parties, the DPP and the New Party, were dissatisfied with then-premier Vincent Siew’s (蕭萬長) handling of a financial crisis and the kidnapping and murder of Pai Hsiao-yen (白曉燕).
PFP caucus whip Thomas Lee (李桐豪) said the party did not sponsor the motion because “no-confidence votes should be a last resort,” adding that “incompetent” Cabinet officials should be replaced first.
However, Lee said Chen should know that it was time for him to leave if the Cabinet fails to bring down the consumer price index, which rose to 3.42 percent last month from a year ago, to below 2 percent, and the unemployment rate for people aged between 15 and 24 from 12.22 percent this month to 9 percent.
KMT caucus whip Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said the KMT administration was not afraid of the no-confidence vote because “it has no chance of passing.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source