Facing the Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) administration's call for an extra legislative session, the legislative caucus of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday that extra sessions should only be held to deal with urgent bills that would benefit the people.
Chen Chieh (陳杰), a KMT legislative caucus whip, told reporters that he is willing to hold talks with his counterparts in other parties on holding an extra session. However, he stressed that extra sessions should only be held to deal with urgent bills that concern the well-being of the nation.
He said that if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wants the extra session simply to address bills for its own benefit, then the KMT would be against an extra session.
Referring to a special budget bill for the Executive Yuan's long-stalled arms procurement plan, the lawmaker suggested that the Ministry of National Defense rearrange the planned spending for the procurement by including it in its annual budgets, instead of calling for a special budget bill.
Meanwhile, Tzeng Yung-chuan (曾永權), executive director of the KMT's Central Policy Coordinating Commission, claimed that the DPP sees the holding of extra sessions as part of the Legislative Yuan's normal operations, warning that such an attitude could damage the system.
The legislature has just concluded its first session and there are still five to go before it finishes its term in 2007. The KMT doesn't believe it is urgent for the Legislative Yuan to call an extra session, Tzeng said.
Upon the end of the last legislative session May 31, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) expressed the hope that an extra session would be called to screen bills that he described as "critical," which the arms procurement package and Executive Yuan restructuring and a review of Control Yuan nominees.
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