The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislative caucus yesterday launched a signature drive to initiate a no-confidence vote against Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), but the odds of the proposal passing are slim since not all TSU lawmakers favor it.
Meanwhile, the special arms-procurement bill failed for the 28th time to be placed on the legislative agenda. The Procedure Committee also balked at putting President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) Control Yuan nominees up for a floor vote.
TSU caucus whip Mark Ho (何敏豪) said two or three TSU lawmakers have doubts about the idea of proposing a no-confidence motion.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
"We will not file the motion until all 12 TSU lawmakers endorse the initiative," he said.
He said the caucus will first seek support from the pan-blue camp and then the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus if the pan-blues reject their idea.
At least 30 signatures are required to make the motion valid.
Ho said that the pan-blue alliance, with its legislative majority, should initiate a no-confidence vote on the premier if they are not happy with his performance so that the public could have the opportunity to elect a new legislature.
By law, if more than one-half of the lawmakers vote in favor of the no-confidence motion, the premier must resign within 10 days and can request the president dismiss the legislature in return.
Ho emphasized that the idea of a no-confidence vote is not targeted at Hsieh but is aimed at resolve the long-running political deadlock in the legislature.
"The pan-blue camp, which has been blocking important government bills such as the arms-procurement budget and flood-control package, should be held responsible for causing the current political logjam," he said.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said that his caucus would support the TSU's proposal "100 percent" if Chen agreed to lead the government to resign.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lee Hung-chun (
KMT Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), executive director of the KMT's Central Policy Committee, said that his caucus does not plan to seek Chen's recall.
Tseng said, however, that the KMT caucus would initiate such a recall campaign if both the DPP and TSU support the idea.
TSU Chairman Shu Chin-chiang (蘇進強) urged the pan-blue camp to cooperate with the TSU to help bring an end to legislative deadlock.
Shu said he authorized the TSU caucus to launch a dismissal plan.
"Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's disbanding Japan's parliament and then winning a landslide victory is a prime example," Shu said.
"It makes no sense for the pan-blue camp to keep the government that it distrusts from doing things," Shu said.
"It should work with the TSU to allow the president to dismiss the legislature," he said.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun said his office respects the TSU's decision. But he said any DPP reaction to the plan should come from its legislative caucus, not his office.
"Koizumi is empowered to dismiss Japan's legislature but that is not the case in Taiwan," Yu said.
"The political predicaments that President Chen has encountered result from the Constitution, which has no mechanism to resolve the confrontations caused by the opposition controlling the legislature," he said.
"The reality is that Taiwan's Constitution is obsolete and needs to be revised," Yu said.
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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