The KMT legislative caucus yesterday recommended that the party expel 10 legislators who voted for nominees for top government positions on Thursday and Friday in defiance of the caucus' order to boycott the ballots.
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), who yesterday returned from a two-week trip to the US, promised that the party would deal with the rebels as soon as possible, saying it was regrettable that some "unqualified people" won confirmation for their appointments.
On Thursday, a nominee for grand justice won confirmation even though the KMT's caucus ordered its members not to vote. Four nominees for positions in the Control Yuan and another grand justice nominee were voted down.
On Friday, the legislature confirmed the appointment of former DPP chairman Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) as Examination Yuan president and 19 others as Examination Yuan members.
The KMT caucus had ordered its members to boycott the vote for Yao and eight of the other nominees. The nominee for vice president of the Examination Yuan was voted down.
"We will examine the disobedient conduct of these legislators and deal with them as soon as possible according to the rules and discipline of the party," Lien said.
According to the list submitted by the KMT caucus, those subject to expulsion include Lu Shin-ming (呂新民), Lin Pin-kuan (林炳坤), Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁), Yang Wen-hsin (楊文欣), Lin Chin-chun (林進春), Lin Nan-sheng (林南生), Tseng Hua-te (曾華德), Yang Jen-fu (楊仁福), Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟) and Chen Ken-te (陳根德).
Caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) explained that the expulsion was recommended in accordance with a decision reached by the caucus before the ballots, namely that "anyone who casts their votes will be expelled."
Still, it is uncertain whether the lawmakers will be expelled, as the caucus also suggested that the party take into account the severity of their violations when handing down punishments, Lin said.
For example, Tseng, Yang, Liao and Chen Ken-te, who voted for grand justices and Control Yuan members on Thursday, heeded the party's advice and did not go to Friday's ballot for Examination Yuan president, Lin said.
Chen Kang-chin (陳庚金), director-general of the Evaluation and Discipline Committee, said his committee will decide today when to meet to discipline the legislators.
Chen said the committee will handle these latest cases of disobedience together with others that occurred previously in the just-ended legislative session.
The KMT has threatened disciplinary action on five occasions in the session.
In addition to the three ballots taking place on Thursday and Friday, these include the Feb. 1 elections for Legislative Yuan speaker and vice speaker and the Feb. 19 ballot on overturning the KMT-proposed amendments to the Law Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法).
KMT Secretary-general Lin Fong-cheng (
Lin reiterated that the the party was more concerned about unity that it was about the number of legislators.
The KMT holds 68 seats in the legislature and is able to control a slim majority in the 224-seat chamber by allying with the PFP, which has 46 seats.
Lin said the ballots had allowed the KMT to identify who was vulnerable to the DPP's "temptation" and who was not.
The KMT and PFP have accused the DPP of buying votes from opposition legislators for between NT$5 million and NT$10 million each and promising them budgets for development projects in their constituencies in exchange for their support.
The DPP has denied those allegations.
* Lu Shin-ming (呂新民)
* Lin Pin-kuan (林炳坤)
* Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁)
* Yang Wen-hsin (楊文欣)
* Lin Chin-chun (林進春)
* Lin Nan-sheng (林南生)
* Tseng Hua-te (曾華德)
* Yang Jen-fu (楊仁福)
* Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟)
* Chen Ken-te (陳根德)
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS