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Cabinet says officials not obliged to heed legislature

Government officials are not obliged to attend legislative hearings on recalling the president, the Cabinet said yesterday.

"The legislature requested government officials to do so through a legislative decision. However, a legislative decision is not legally binding, so government officials do not have to follow it. It is a request by the legislature, not a legal order. This is different," Government Information Office Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said during a press conference after the Cabinet held its weekly meeting yesterday.

Cheng made the remarks in response to the legislature's approval of a procedure for recalling the president and its stipulation that government officials attend future hearings upon request.

Cheng said Minister Without Portfolio Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄) had immediately met with the Cabinet's legal consultants and had determined that the legislature's "request" had no legal standing.

"The legislature's investigative authority is not assured or protected by any law. As a result, lawmakers do not have the authority to ask anybody to attend any hearings," Cheng said.

In addition, the procedure to recall the president, which was proposed by the pan-blue camp, mentioned that the legislature would have the authority to review or investigate any legal documents that may be related to helping investigate the case.

The spokesman said that some lawmakers may have misunderstood their authority.

"The authority to review or investigate any legal documents is an authority that belongs to individual committees, not the legislative floor," Cheng said.

"Everything is explained clearly in interpretation article 585 of the Constitution. Whoever is not sure about this is more than welcome to review this interpretation article," Cheng said.
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