Pan-green lawmakers yesterday slammed Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) for leading a group of 15 lawmakers on a trip to disputed waters near the Diaoyutais, saying he was being carried away by quest for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship. They also berated pan-blue legislators for meddling in the Ministry of National Defense's deployment plans.
Criticizing yesterday's high-profile day trip as a "political performance," Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus whip Ho Min-hao (
"We are very disappointed to see the KMT chairmanship election turn out to be like this," he said. "While Speaker Wang is wasting taxpayers' money, his rival Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Ho was referring to a comment made by Ma yesterday encouraging the navy to "use a battle to force a peace," ie, to stand up to Japan and force negotiations over the fishery dispute.
Ho did not participate in yesterday's trip. Ten of the lawmakers who did were from the KMT, three from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and two from the People First Party (PFP).
Ho said that the government should have made an effort to resolve fishery disputes by diplomatic channels instead of resorting to military means. He also said that a new law should be enacted to clearly demarcate the nation's territorial waters and boundaries.
At present the Constitution simply says: "the territory of the Republic of China according to its existing national boundaries shall not be altered except by resolution of the National Assembly."
During its 50-year rule, the KMT claimed that the nation's boundaries covered China, Tibet and Mongolia.
Ho said that while his caucus endorses the government's resolve to protect Taiwanese fishermen, such a responsibility should fall on the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), not the defense ministry.
What opposition lawmakers should have done, Ho said, is to approve more funding for the CGA to upgrade its equipment instead of complicating an already thorny issue.
"We'd really hate for the international community to see us as a troublemaker inciting regional instability," he said.
Calling on opposition lawmakers to pass the arms procurement budget, Ho also accused them of adopting a double standard in the face of China's military threat.
TSU Legislator Tseng Tsan-teng (曾燦燈) painted yesterday's trip as a farce because while the defense minister has the power to dispatch troops, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) complied with the request made by People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), whose job is to oversee the ministry's operations.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) asked if Lin had encroached on President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) constitutional responsibility to command the armed forces.
Meanwhile, DPP caucus whip Lai Ching-te (
Lai also condemned what he called Wang and Ma's abuse of national resources for the KMT election. He said Wang's leading the legislative delegation yesterday was both "incorrect" and "failing to tell a friend from a foe." He lambasted Ma for spending NT$250,000 of Taipei residents' money to hold a forum with retired servicemen and their families, saying it using public resources for personal gain.
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