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DPP slams absent KMT lawmakers

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, center, rides past an E-2K Hawkeye early warning aircraft during a ceremony in Pingtung County yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday asked the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to "do the right thing" instead of focusing on its former chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) trip to China.

"I hope KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will call back those 30 KMT lawmakers who are currently accompanying Lien in China so that pending proposals, such as the arms purchase bill, will not be delayed again," said DPP caucus whip Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻).

Chen made the remarks when he was approached by reporters yesterday.

He complained that the absence of KMT lawmakers who accompanied Lien to China has slowed the legislative session, and that many proposals have yet to be discussed, reviewed or approved.

Chen said that the US arms purchase bill has been blocked by the pan-blue camp more than 50 times since it was first introduced in 2004, and noted that the approval of Control Yuan nominees has also been delayed.

"These two proposals, for example, have seriously influenced and impacted the country's national defense and the spirit of the Constitution. We need to fix these kinds of problem as soon as possible," Chen said.

The DPP caucus whip was upset that some 30 KMT lawmakers left Taiwan for Beijing even though the legislature is in session.

"[KMT lawmakers] won't spend any time talking to us, but they go to Beijing to talk to the Chinese communists. What kind of logic is that? If Ma still cares about this country and its people, he will have to call [his party's] people back to work as soon as possible," Chen said.

In response to Chen's com-plaint, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) said that the problem was actually created by the DPP.

"Now that the DPP has decided to list the proposal for the arms purchase deal as part of the government's annual budget instead of a stand-alone special budget, they should simply withdraw the proposal, amend it and re-submit it," Tsai said.

Tsai said that the KMT had good reasons for blocking the arms purchase bill. He said that it was actually the DPP legislative caucus' fault because it had not come up with an accurate, legal and reasonable proposal.

"As an opposition party, we definitely need to spot all the defects on behalf of the public," he said.

Meanwhile, Ma yesterday said that his party has demanded that its caucus restart the negotiation mechanism to reach consensus on the arms procurement bill with its pan-blue allies and independent legislators as soon as possible.
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