Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday restated his party's opposition to constitutional amendments that would reduce the legislature to 200 seats, and denied that he was at odds with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) over the issue.
"More than 80 percent of National Assembly representatives agreed to cut the number of legislative seats last year. Amending the Constitution again within such a short time will only confuse people," Ma said yesterday after presiding over a municipal meeting as Taipei mayor.
The now-defunct National Assembly amended the Constitution last May, cutting the number of legislative seats from 225 to 113. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) supported another round of amendments during his New Year message.
Wang called for a public debate on the merits of adopting a German-style Cabinet system during a Legislative Yuan seminar on Monday. He suggested that the legislature should have 200 seats instead of 113, as will happen after next year's legislative elections.
The difference of opinion between Wang and Ma gave rise to more speculation on tension between the two KMT figures, but Ma denied there was any problem.
"Speaker Wang brought up the proposals of other legislators, not his own ideas ... I think we should think very carefully about the public's response to any further amendments," Ma said.
Ma also urged the government to focus its efforts on improving the country's economy instead of concentrating on political issues.
"The government should devote itself to developing the country's economy, and the Legislative Yuan should push through more bills relating to people's livelihoods. This is what a responsible government should do," he added.
On a suspected Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) plan to establish a team to look for contradictions in Ma's comments on cross-strait issues, Ma yesterday welcomed any such move.
"But the ruling party's job is to push through its policies, not to find fault with the opposition party chairman ... I think the media can probably do a better job at picking on me," he said.
While his idea to raise the legislature's seats from 113 to 200 was frowned upon by Ma, Wang yesterday insisted that the idea was an important one that legislators could seriously consider.
Wang rebutted Ma's view that he did not feel the need to amend the Constitution any further.
He said his idea was raised solely out of concern for the country's development.
"When the legislature is reduced to 113 seats, committees will be composed of just three legislators and that few can't decide a ministry's policies and budgets," he said.
"It is the legislature's duty to amend the Constitution, making it applicable to the country. Whether we amending it or not depends on the legislators," he said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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