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Pan-greens, pan-blues fail to agree on the agenda for new legislative session

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua, right, is restrained by Democratic Progressive Party legislators after charging the podium yesterday while Premier Su Tseng-chang, left, was delivering a speech. PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

Legislators failed to agree on the priority for the new legislative session yesterday, amid continuing confrontation between forces loyal and opposed to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) declared that the party's mission in this session of the legislature, which commenced yesterday, was to attempt once more to recall Chen, to pass a vote of no confidence in Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) if the recall failed, and to file an impeachment against Chen if neither of the first two options succeeded.

Soong made the remarks in the legislature during the induction of the PFP's new caucus whip.

"If the people argue endlessly over the president's performance, take to the street and turn violent, it's the legislature's duty to force a referendum through to decide whether the president should stay on or leave office," Soong said.

recall

Soong urged the legislature to pass a second recall motion to give the people the right to decide whether Chen should be deposed.

"In a democracy, the problem of deposing the president is political, and should be resolved in the legislature, rather than on the street," Soong said.

A recall motion initiated by the PFP and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) failed to pass in June.

While saying that the KMT would cooperate with the PFP on a second recall motion this session, the head of the KMT's policy coordination department, Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), said the party would need more time to consider the no-confidence vote in the premier, although some KMT members had already declared their support for it.

Meanwhile, KMT caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) said the party intended to deal with certain controversial bills that have long been stalled in the legislature.

"That includes the arms procurement bill, and the authorization bills for the president's nominee for state public prosecutor-general and Control Yuan members," Tsai said.

Legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), the head of the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union caucus, said yesterday that he had come up with a proposal to topple Su and urged KMT and PFP legislators to back it.

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) stressed that he would maintain a neutral stance if the lawmakers attempted to topple the Cabinet through a no-confidence vote.

However, Wang said it would be "inappropriate" to topple the Cabinet through a no-confidence vote because there was no mechanism in place as yet to elect new legislators if Chen responded by dissolving the legislature.

A simple majority of the legislature is all that is required to pass a no-confidence motion. Currently, the 220-seat legislature consist of 112 pan-blue lawmakers, 97 pan-greens and 11 independents.

Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said his party would also remain neutral on a no-confidence vote in the premier, adding that former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) has said that the Legislative Yuan is the key to solving the current political stalemate.

DPP caucus whip Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) said that her caucus respected any legal means proposed to bring down the government, though they did not support such moves.

DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) said the pan-blue legislators "are wasting the legislature's resources and our time, which we should be spending on reviewing bills and budgets."

disruption

Just before Su made his administrative report to the legislature yesterday, more than 30 red-clad KMT and PFP lawmakers held up banners and shouted slogans against the president.

"Step down, A-bian. Step down, Su Tseng-chang," they yelled.

These lawmakers said that Su should step down as well because he did not make good on his promise to reduce the crime rate within six months.

The protest did not last long before Wang announced a brief break and Su left the scene.

The red-clad legislators then tied a red ribbon around the microphone on the speaker's table. The legislative session resumed at 11:15am, when Su returned and gave his administrative report to the legislature.
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