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DPP whip Ker in favor of second legislative session

A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator said yesterday that he would propose a second extraordinary session of the legislature be convened following today's showdown between the ruling and the opposition parties over the recall motion against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said a second session should focus on the major arms procurement bill and on bills related to public welfare such as special budgets for flood control and a draft bill on the establishment of a retirement fund supervisory group, which he said was crucial to the rights of 6 million wage earners.

Ker made the remarks after a regular meeting with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun at the premier's office.

Su approved of his suggestion, Ker said.

Ker said they discussed party strategy on the recall vote and how to deal with the vote's aftermath. Because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) maintain a slim majority in the 221-seat legislature, Ker said the recall motion was "bound to fail," as it requires a two-thirds majority.

Ker said the DPP regarded the recall motion as "political strife," and legislators would unfurl a banner prior to the vote expressing their opposition to the recall attempt and political unrest -- and to promote the party's pro-welfare stance.

The three also decided that after the vote, police would step up checks at major transportation points, including MRT stations and railway stations, to avoid clashes between supporters of the two sides, Ker said.

Legislators agreed to an extraordinary session to run from June 13 to Friday after the legislature went into recess late last month. The DPP has listed several priority bills for discussion in the special session, but the KMT and the PFP put the recall motion at the top of the agenda.

With reports that KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) may return to a middle-of-the-road path after the vote, Ker said he hoped that Ma would support the proposal for a second extraordinary session.
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