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KMT to review contentious bills

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus will study the feasibility of overturning two controversial bills that the caucus itself initiated and pushed for passage last week, party sources said yesterday.

The sources said that KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), himself a legislator, ordered the formation of a seven-member task force to study the issue on Friday after a heated debate among caucus members over whether the party should take the initiative to invalidate two newly passed amendments to the Farmers Association Law (農會法) and the Fishermen Association Law (漁會法) that critics said would pave the way for the "return of black gold politics."

The amendments not only cancel the three-term limits for the secretaries general of farmers and fishermen associations and lower requirements for the renewal of posts but also stipulate that association staff standing trial are not to be relieved of their jobs until a final verdict is delivered.

Under the existing laws, indicted staff members from farmers and fishermen associations must be fired from their posts following conviction in second trials for criminal activities.

The passage of the two amendment packages under the KMT, which controls a slim majority in the legislature, has drawn criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and many political commentators.

The DPP party central and its legislative caucus have thrown their support behind the Executive Yuan's plan to ask the legislature to reconsider the two controversial bills on the grounds that 95 percent of current secretaries general whose loyalties traditionally lie with the KMT will be able to dominate the organizations indefinitely despite the fact that many of them have criminal records.

During Friday's KMT caucus meeting, two members -- legislators Shyu Jong-shyoung (徐中雄) and Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) -- took the party authority to task for backing such controversial amendments.

The two KMT lawmakers said the passage of the controversial amendments have tarnished the party's image and could even hurt KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) presidential campaign.

"At a time when the public is fed up with official corruption and holds high expectations of political integrity, we should not hesitate to make an about-face in this matter," Shyu said.

Wu Yu-sheng echoed Shyu's view, saying that the party should not break its promise to promote clean politics.

"If we fail to correct our mistakes in this case, the public could lose faith in our promise and withdraw their support for our candidates in the coming legislative and presidential elections," he said.

Shyu said that if the party caucus failed to come up with a "reconsideration" motion before Tuesday's deadline, he would show up when the legislature deals with the Executive Yuan's request for reconsideration of the two amendment packages to protest the KMT central and legislative caucus' "cowardice."

Some caucus members, including Legislator Pai Tien-chih (白添枝), who concurrently serves as managing supervisor of the Taiwan Provincial Farmers Association, voiced different views, saying that since other public office holders, from the president down, are not forced to quit until after being convicted in the third or final trial, it is unreasonable to demand that farmers and fishermen association executives step down after being convicted in a second trial.

In response, KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih said he would invite seven lawmakers with differing views to discuss the issue tomorrow and make a final decision on the party's stance.

Under existing regulations, the Executive Yuan and the legislative caucuses of various political parties can ask the legislature to reconsider a controversial bill that has already cleared the legislature within a specified period of time after the bill's passage. If the bill is backed by more than half of the lawmakers in a second vote, it will take effect; otherwise, it will be invalidated.

After premier-designate Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) formally takes the helm at the Executive Yuan tomorrow, he is expected to determine soon whether to ask the opposition-controlled legislature to reconsider the two amendment packages.
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