The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus yesterday restated its stance on constitutional reform, saying that it will mete out punishment in defense of the constitutional amendment package passed by the legislature last August.
"KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) already made it clear to the public that National Assembly members representing the party but failing to toe the party's line will be punished. Nobody needs to worry about our determination to push constitutional amendments and support constitutional reform," KMT caucus whip Chen Chieh (陳杰) said.
While the KMT has 147 nominees on the list, Chen said that any of the party's banished assembly members will be immediately replaced by the next candidate in line.
The DPP has been allocated 127 seats in the 300-member assembly, followed by the KMT with 117, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) with 21 and the People First Party (PFP) with 18.
Chen made the remarks yesterday morning in response to a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Lai Ching-te (
Lai requested that the KMT caucus tell the public whether it would stick to its position on the constitutional amendments.
Lai said that the KMT should explain to the public how it plans to reach the goal. Lai called on the KMT to adopt a similar approach to the DPP.
The DPP caucus has vowed to expel any of its assembly members who defy its position on the constitutional amendments.
Ousted members would be replaced and a second round of voting requested.
Producing a copy of a front-page story run in a Chinese-language newspaper yesterday, Lai expressed apprehension over the fate of the constitutional amendments, even though his party and the KMT, which are both in favor of the amendments, account for more than 80 percent of the seats in the assembly.
The report claimed that an assembly member representing the KMT, Chu Hung-yuan (朱浤源), was trying to solicit support from other assembly members to sink the amendments.
Chu reportedly voiced opposition to the party's rule that assembly members cast ballots in line with the party's stance.
"Why don't they just find a kindergarten student to do the job if we don't enjoy the liberty of expressing our own opinions?" Chu was quoted as saying.
Chu made the remarks before being nominated by 19 of the KMT's assembly members to run for the assembly's secretary-general post.
Meanwhile, former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (
Su said he will lead party members to supervise assembly voting to make sure that DPP assembly members toe the party line.
The National Assembly iwill hold a preparatory meeting today to decide the date for the assembly's official meeting as well as settle the post of secretary-general.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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