The opposition KMT and PFP yesterday continued their efforts to recall the newly elected Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) by proposing revisions to the law and speeding up an investigation concerning alleged vote-buying among members of the city council.
The scandal-ridden Chu was elected as Kaohsiung City Council Speaker on Wednesday with support from the KMT, PFP and independent councilors, prompting an immediate storm of controversy.
Chu has been indicted for vote-buying in the election campaign for the city council and other economic crimes and financial irregularities. The support shown him by opposition party councilors has seriously dented claims by those parties to have abandoned the nexus of corrupt business and political practices known colloquially as "black gold."
Under the existing Local Gov-ernment System Law, a council speaker, once elected, cannot be recalled until he or she has served at least one year of his term.
KMT legislative caucus whip Lee Chuan-chiao (
Lee insisted that the revision should go directly to a second reading. The KMT hopes the revision will pass in the current session.
Lee said yesterday that he hoped the revision would receive cross-party support.
Lee also threatened to delay passage of the national budget unless the DPP cooperated in passing the amendment.
"There is no regulation to protect the legislative speaker and deputy speaker from being recalled within their first year in office. Why should city councilors, who have been tarred with election bribery allegations, deserve such protection?" Lee said.
The PFP legislative caucus yesterday voiced support amendment and its direct passage to a second reading, but opposed a KMT demand to make the amendment a rider to the general budget.
"The amendment to the Law on Local Government Systems is one thing, while the bill for the general budget is another. We don't want this revision ... to slow the reviewing process of the general budget," PFP legislative caucus whip Shen Chih-hwei (
KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) yesterday reiterated the party's determination to expel city councilors found guilty of selling their votes to Chu.
Reacting to the DPP's opposition to Chu's recall, Lin said that "if the DPP is against the recall proposal, that means the DPP is partial to black-gold politics."
In addition to the efforts to have Chu recalled, KMT Vice Chairman Vincent Siew (
Siew's visit, however, was received coolly by the KMT's city councilors. Only four of the 12, Chen Han-sheng (陳漢昇), Yang Min-lang (楊敏郎), Tsao Ming-hei (曹明輝), and Liu Shao-chun (劉少春), bothered to meet Siew. The four who met with Siew said they were willing to do as the party asked and endorse a recall proposal, while Siew warned the eight stay-aways that anyone who refused to endorse the proposal would be severely punished by the party.
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