President `respects' recall vote result

Pan-blue supporters rally near the legislature on Jinan Road yesterday, holding placards that read ``Recall.'' The first-ever bid to recall the president was put to a vote in a special session of the legislature yesterday and failed to pass. PHOTOS: CHAO SHIH-HSUN AND LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said that he respected the outcome of the recall motion and expressed the hope of holding consultations with opposition parties.

"It is not important whether I continue to stay on the job," he said. "I respect the process and outcome of the opposition-initiated recall motion as long as it conforms to the constitutional procedure."

Chen made the remarks in a statement released by the Presidential Office yesterday morning after the legislature voted on the recall motion.

The proposal failed to pass the legal threshold. It required the support of a two-thirds majority, or 148 out of the 221 occupied seats, to put the recall proposal to a national referendum.

In addition to expressing respect for the outcome, Chen apologized on behalf of himself and his family for causing political and social disturbances and the social cost of the upheaval.

"I'd like to offer my most sincere apology and call on all political parties to respect the decision of the legislature," he said. "I hope they will convince their supporters that the matter has come to an end and that things should return to normal as soon as possible."

Pan-green protesters in Taipei hold up white roses to celebrate the presidential recall motion's failure to pass yesterday.

Corruption cases

Regarding the corruption scandals implicating his family and in-laws, Chen reiterated his trust in the judicial system and hoped the public had faith in the system.

He urged the public to give prosecutors and investigators enough space to probe the matter so the truth would soon been learned.

"I'd like to offer my most sincere apology and call on all political parties to respect the decision of the legislature."

President Chen Shui-bian

Chen also expressed concern over the political and social atmosphere, which he said had seriously affected the nation's unity.

"I am willing to accept criticism and reflect," he said. "I hope to push for political negotiations with opposition parties and cross-strait talks with China. I will devote myself to the country's unity and a harmonious society."

While the legislature had spent a lot of time and effort on the recall motion during the extraordinary legislative session, Chen called on opposition parties to switch their focus to passing bills concerning people's livelihoods.

DPP reform

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday called on the governing and opposition parties to halt infighting and the DPP to expedite housecleaning and reform.

Lu's office issued a statement yesterday morning after the legislative vote, expressing her hope to push for the "blue sky, green ground and good Taiwan" campaign.

Blue and green are the colors that represent the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the DPP respectively.

She also urged the opposition parties to keep the public interest in mind and pass bills concerning people's livelihoods as soon as possible.

Lu said she had originally planned to visit supporters gathering outside the legislative compound after the recall vote to express her concern.

She, however, cancelled her plan due to a relapse of a long-standing eye problem and inflammation of her sciatic nerve, the statement said.

Pan-blue legislators didn't appreciate the president's apology, saying he should step down if he sincerely felt sorry.

"The president has offered apologies 13 times over the past six years. What people want from him is not just a verbal apology. He should have known about this," KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said.

As for the president's call for the legislature to pass budget bills of concern to the nation, People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said "it's not the president's business to comment on legislative affairs now that he has already rejected making a response to the legislature's recall motion."

The opposition had originally wanted the president to issue a rebuttal to the recall proposal but Chen refused, deciding instead to defend his record in a television address last week.

In a statement issued last night, Cabinet Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) urged legislators to focus on pending proposals that concern the public, after having spent "a long time" on the issue of recalling the president in the past few weeks.

The Cabinet also expressed appreciation to the police for their help in maintaining public order during yesterday's protests staged outside the Legislative Yuan.

The Cabinet also expressed the hope that "unnecessary" protests would be reduced in the future, the statement said.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and Jimmy Chuang

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