Legislature bickers over delay

Caucuses bickered yesterday over when to redress Tuesday's legislative inaction, which has prevented the budget for state-run enterprises from being sent to the Presidential Office for its approval.

The opposition camp favored extending today's meeting while the ruling DPP refused to address unfinished business until after confirmation voting takes place tomorrow evening.

The legislature is slated to vote on nominees for the Grand Justices and Control Yuan members today and to decide on appointments for Examination Yuan leadership posts tomorrow.

DPP legislative whip Wang Tuoh (王拓) said his party would give the go-ahead to undisputed bills, provided that they will be discussed after the confirmation votes today and tomorrow.

Wang said that extending the assembly tomorrow is more desirable, because it would not violate procedural rules by disrupting the schedule.

But the opposition alliance disagreed, saying it is more practical to move the ballots for Control Yuan appointments to this morning, when only the two nominees for Grand Justice will be decided.

During a morning news conference, KMT legislative whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said his party regretted the legislative inaction Tuesday and expressed a wish to make amends today.

"All parties contributed to the body's paralysis," Lin said. "The DPP, in particular, was to blame for lending support to a TSU motion to reconsider the budget for state-run businesses."

The proposal, intended to ban the Cabinet-owned Taiwan Development Fund from lending money to two construction projects of the Ever Fortune Group, was listed as the sixth item to be discussed Tuesday, but partisan wrangling paralyzed lawmakers the entire day.

Without addressing the issue, the legislature may not ask President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to sign the budget into law, in which case recently adopted resolutions regarding the Taiwan High Speed Railway Co would lose their legality.

To avoid that, Lin suggested extending today's session to allow caucuses extra time to handle this and other matters.

PFP legislative leader Diane Lee (李慶安) echoed this view.

"It is important that parties put aside their differences and give top priority to passing the budget," Lee told reporters before attending the cross-party talks.

She added that her party also preferred extending the meeting tonight instead of tomorrow.

Many members from the two opposition parties intend to skip the confirmation vote tomorrow in a show of disapproval over the appointment of senior presidential advisor Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) to the helm of the Examination Yuan.

Leaders from the four caucuses will meet again this morning in another attempt to hammer out a consensus.

Earlier in the day, TSU lawmakers threatened to mount a dismissal motion against Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who they said insisted on adjourning the meeting Tuesday despite their protests.

Not a single bill was passed Tuesday, in stark contrast to past practice, when the legislature was seen burning the midnight oil and striving to adopt as many bills as possible before the recess. The current session is due to fold tomorrow.

The speaker, shrugging off the criticism, said his TSU colleagues are apparently "wanting" in knowledge of the legislative process.

He said there was simply no time for the legislature to take up the TSU proposal Tuesday, noting that bills higher on the agenda also met the same fate.