Print

Mail

wiki links

DPP boycotts blue camp's hearing on Sogo vouchers

While pan-blue legislators have been busy working on their campaign to recall the president, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus decided to play it cool by boycotting the opposition's plan.

DPP officials invited to a legislative hearing held by the pan-blue camp yesterday to discuss allegations that the first lady had accepted Sogo Department Store gift vouchers failed to show up.

Overstepping

"Since the case is already under judicial investigation, the legislature should respect this and refrain from overstepping its authority," DPP caucus whip Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) caucuses, initiators of the recall proposal, started to hold hearings yesterday to examine the scandals relating to the first family and the president's aides.

The hearings will last for seven days and be followed by a four-day review of the recall motion. After that, legislators will cast their vote on the recall motion on June 27.

Seeing that DPP officials, including Director-General of the Bureau of Investigation, Yeh Sheng-mao (葉盛茂), Taipei District Prosecutors' Office chief Yen Ta-he (顏大和), were absent, pan-blue legislators said that the boycott would pose an impediment to clearing up the scandal.

"We feel sorry that none of those invited were here today, as it would hinder the legislature from finding out who's to blame in the scandals," KMT Legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩) said at the hearing.

Heated exchange

Although the invitees didn't show up, DPP legislators Wang Shu-hui (王淑慧), Hsu Jung-shu (許榮淑) did attend the hearing, where they exchanged heated words with pan-blue lawmakers.

The two DPP legislators reproached the pan-blue law-makers for bringing up a slew of false charges against the first family, while the pan-blues urged the DPP legislators to support the recall motion against a corruption-ridden government.

KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), who accused the first lady of not only accepting the Sogo vouchers as a gift but also reselling part of the vouchers at a 10 percent discount to several of her female friends, said during the hearing that he would resign from his post if his allegations were proven to be false.
This story has been viewed 1668 times.