Facing accusations of influence peddling, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday took his battle with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to the Taipei District Court in the hope of retaining his KMT membership and legislative speaker position.
The court held its first session yesterday afternoon to review Wang’s challenge of a KMT decision, which revoked the 72-year-old politician’s membership in the party for his role in alleged illegal lobbying.
The court did not hand down a ruling yesterday. According to the Code of Civil Procedure (民事訴訟法), the court should make a ruling within seven days of a provisional injunction.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Wang and Ma did not attend the court session.
Former Democratic Progressive Party legislator and attorney Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), who represented Wang, filed an injunction against the revocation with the Taipei District Court as well as a civil lawsuit seeking to overrule the KMT’s decision.
The Wang camp filed an additional temporary restraining order on Wednesday night, which argued that Wang should retain his position as speaker.
Photo: CNA
Hsu Ying-chieh (許英傑), another lawyer for Wang, said his client claimed that the KMT’s decision had violated the principle of proportionality since the party did not revoke the party membership of former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) and KMT Taipei City councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如), both of whom have been indicted for corruption.
Neither did the KMT grant Wang the 20-day appeal period stipulated in the party’s charter, Hsu said.
The KMT’s Anti-Corruption Committee could still reverse the punishment on appeal — but only if the punishment is found to be non-compliant with party rules. Even if that happens, Wang will still be out of the party until the committee makes a ruling, sources in the KMT said.
In 2010, the KMT revised its rules so that disciplinary measures would remain in effect even during appeals, they said.
The KMT will not interfere with Wang’s move to request a court review of the Central Evaluation and Discipline Committee’s decision, the sources said, adding that it is his right to pursue the course of action.
Wang said he hoped that he could retain the speaker position to resolve a series of important issues that are related to social and political stability, including a controversial cross-strait service trade agreement, a referendum proposal on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and the central government’s budget plan, the lawyer said.
Wang has been a major player in the KMT and since becoming speaker of the legislature in 1999, has enjoyed popularity among both ruling and opposition lawmakers. He started his legislative career when he was elected in 1975. He was a legislator-at-large in 2004.
Chen Ming (陳明), a lawyer who represented the KMT, said the KMT urged the court to uphold its decision to expel Wang for interfering with the judiciary.
“Which deserves to be protected more? Wang’s political career or the KMT’s pledge and determination to uphold the law?” Chen asked reporters.
Earlier yesterday, the legislature’s secretariat confirmed that it had received a notice regarding the revocation of Wang’s KMT membership from the Central Election Commission (CEC) in an electronic file on Wednesday night.
Gao Chiu-lai (高秋來), director of the legislature’s Conference Department, said that the notice would be processed in line with normal procedures.
According to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), the legislature is required to void Wang’s status as a lawmaker and send the result back to the CEC so that it can announce the name of a KMT legislator-at-large nominee to take over Wang’s seat. Under the law, the legislature is not subject to a prescribed period to complete the process.
CEC Vice Chairman Liu I-chou (劉義周) reiterated yesterday that Wang lost his status as a legislator the same day his party membership was revoked.
Liu said he was surprised that many people were still unsure about Wang’s legislative status despite the developments.
Wang said he had no comment on Liu’s views that his legislative seat had been invalidated immediately after the KMT ruled on the case on Wednesday.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS