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KMT not nominating candidates

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Wu Den-yi says the party will not make any Control Yuan nominations at a press conference in Taipei yesterday. PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) said yesterday that the party would not nominate candidates for the Control Yuan and Examination Yuan and would give talent from other parties and groups the opportunity to serve the country.

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) invited Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) to form a nomination and review committee last week at the Presidential Office to decide on the nominees and as the ruling party, the KMT should help the government include talent from various backgrounds by not participating in the nomination process, Wu said.

“We believe the Presidential Office’s committee is impartial and we also want to respect President Ma’s right of nomination,” Wu told a press conference yesterday at KMT headquarters.

The nomination and review committee was formed on Tuesday, immediately after the inauguration of Ma and Siew, to handle the nominations for the two government bodies and the Presidential Office sent out invitations to all political parties inviting them to recommend candidates by June 5.

The committee will review the candidates and send its list of nominees to the legislature on June 23 for approval.

The KMT formed a nomination committee headed by KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) last year and nominated eight candidates to former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration.

Wu Den-yi said the party nominated candidates last year because the former government’s nomination committee members were biased.

The Control Yuan is the nation’s top watchdog empowered by the Constitution to investigate irregularities involving government employees under the nation’s five-branch governmental framework. It has remained idle since January 2005 because of pan-blue lawmakers refusal to allow the legislature to review Chen’s nominees.

The Examination Yuan is responsible for the examination, employment and management of all civil servants. It may also propose corrective measures to improve government organs.

Ma promised during his inauguration speech on Tuesday that he would respect constitutional tradition and allow Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member, to complete his term in August.

Ma reiterated those remarks on Saturday and said he would follow the Constitution and respect the authority of independent government organs, including the Control Yuan, the Examination Yuan, the National Communications Commission and the central bank.

Wu Den-yi declined to comment on rumors that Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) would be appointed the new Examination Yuan president.

Ma has also allegedly decided on the appointment of former education minister Kirby Yang (楊朝祥) as examination minister and KMT Deputy Secretary-General Chang Che-chen (張哲琛) as civil service minister, but a story in the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) said that he would not announce the appointments yet in order to fulfill his promise.

In response, DPP spokesman-designate Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said that the party had asked its legislative caucus to discuss the KMT’s plans.

The party’s Central Standing Committee would then discuss the caucus’ recommendations as soon as it receives its proposals.

As for Ma’s pledge to let non-KMT members lead the two government branches, Cheng said he would like to see how things develop before rushing to make any comment, adding that he had heard that Ma already had certain candidates in mind.

TSU Spokeswoman Chow Mei-li (周美里) yesterday declined to comment on the KMT’s plan, saying that she did not have sufficient information to comment on the matter.

Regarding the speculation that Ma might appoint Huang as the head of the Examination Yuan, Chou said Huang had said that such an appointment would not happen. When asked whether it meant Huang would turn down an offer if Ma made it, Chou repeated Huang’s remark.

Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
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