Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday defied the party line on the issue of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant during the legislative vote to change the discussion agenda.
The plant is located in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
The ruling and opposition party caucuses yesterday locked horns over the addition of the nuclear issue to the agenda, after an attempt to do so was obstructed by the KMT at a meeting of the Procedure Committee on Tuesday.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union had asked for the agenda to include proposals in which Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) would be required to deliver a special report to the legislature on the immediate termination of the construction and the slashing of the plant’s NT$8.1 billion (US$269 million) budget.
The KMT voted down the proposals, but not all of its members voted against.
KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華), whose constituency is in New Taipei City, defied instructions issued by his party and voted yes for proposals motioned by the opposition parties relating to the construction.
Also voting against the party were KMT legislators Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) and Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才), who voted for additions to next week’s agenda on Tuesday of the termination of the construction and the budget reductions.
The KMT caucus had demanded the presence of all its legislators for the ballot, and KMT deputy caucus whip Wang Ting-son (王廷升) had said that party discipline would be enforced, with fines imposed to punish those who failed to show up or voted against the party consensus.
After the vote, Lo told reporters that the KMT lawmakers “have no chance to express their own opinions.”
“You have to persuade us instead of forcing us to support [the party resolution], which is futile,” she added.
Lee said he believed that the party caucus was “well-aware of his stance [on the issue].”
Saying that he had once proposed holding a referendum on the termination of the plant’s construction — which he later retracted — Lee said it would have been lying to the public yesterday if he had not voted in the same way.
Meanwhile, the KMT also voted through a draft act to raise the requirements for recalling legislators.
The move has sparked controversy at a time when a campaign to recall various KMT legislators is ongoing.
The draft act, which requires that the petitioners provide photocopies of identity cards and affidavits — in addition to the existing requirements for name, address and identification number — was passed by the KMT majority last year and bypassed the standing committee’s deliberation for a direct second reading.
The opposition said, at the time, that the bill was a special clause for KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), who was the target of a public recall campaign.
The KMT yesterday placed the bill on Tuesday’s agenda, which means it could pass a second reading with a floor vote.
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