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Ma sets timeframe for KMT proposal

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou, center, leads his three vice chairs, from left to right, Lin Cheng-chi, Wu Poh-hsiung and Chiang Pin-kun, in greetings yesterday as part of the party's Lunar New Year celebrations at the KMT headquarters. PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that the KMT will make its proposal on the special arms sale bill and the personnel of the Control Yuan early next month and it will negotiate on these two issues with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after working out a consensus with the other opposition parties.

Ma made the remarks during a celebration at KMT headquarters for the first working day after the Lunar New Year holiday. The party traditionally has all its members gather to greet one another at the commencement of a new year.

"Seeing so many senior members and colleagues attend the party, I truly feel that the KMT is getting more prosperous." Ma said.

Ma said that the Legislative Yuan will still be the political focal point in the coming year and he expected the party's legislators will propose laws on initiating and control of policy-making.

He also indicated that consolidation will be significant, given that four KMT legislators were elected as county commissioners and city mayors in last December's local elections and so the pan-blue camp now has 111 legislative seats, one more than half the total legislative seats.

"The pan-blue camp is now a fragile majority, so we have to be more united than before," Ma said.

The KMT will come up with a formal pronouncement on its version of the special arms bill and Control Yuan appointments either at the end of this month or early next month. After hammering out proposals with the People First Party (PFP), New Party and the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, the KMT will negotiate with the DPP.

Ma said that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) had agreed with this proposal. He also said the KMT will not boycott legislation just to oppose the government's plans.

Meanwhile, in reaction to the news that the PFP will cooperate with the Taiwan Solidarity Union to promote a Cabinet system of government through revision of the Constitution in order to block the PFP's absorption by the KMT, Ma said that he didn't fully understand the issue but he thought revising the Constitution too frequently would reduce people's respect for it.

"What we should do is to carry out the Constitution, not revise it," Ma said.
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