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KMT chairman to discuss legislative reform this week

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) will meet KMT legislators this week to discuss parliamentary reform, KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said yesterday.

The 81 KMT legislators will meet the chairman on Thursday, April 7 and April 8 to discuss how they should carry out their immediate duties, including seeking legislative reform through sunshine bills.

Wu and the legislators will also talk about amending the party's internal regulations, Lin said.

BILLS

Lin said that the caucus would initiate proposals at several legislative committees this week to prioritize 16 bills that are "less controversial" for committee review.

The caucus' move came after Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) of the KMT convened a cross-party negotiation session on March 20 to discuss the 16 bills.

METHADONE

The 16 bills, which include an amendment to the Narcotics Endangerment Prevention Act (毒品危害防治條例) proposed by Hsieh to offer methadone maintenance treatment as a way to reduce drug dependence, will likely be put to a second reading if the committees complete their preliminary review by the plenary session on Friday.

Lin said that the caucus would be willing to push the bills through a third reading as soon as possible.

The legislature is scheduled to begin reviews of bills during the weekly plenary session after the legislative interpellation of the premier ends tomorrow.

PRESSURE

Meanwhile, president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said at an event in Chiayi County yesterday that he had come under great pressure after winning the presidential election because a survey after the poll showed that more than 80 percent of respondents were satisfied with the result of the election.

The KMT, which now dominates both branches of the government, should shoulder full responsibility for the administration, he said.

Democracy means that the majority rules, but the voice of the minority should be respected while differences of opinion should be allowed to exist, he said.

He called for an end to the political wrangling between the pan-green and the pan-blue camps and said the war of words that characterized the presidential election was a thing of the past.
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