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Control Yuan questioning erupts into verbal tussle

Democratic Progressive Party legislators Pan Meng-an, front left, and William Lai, back left, ask Control Yuan member nominee Chen Chien-ming, right, to step down from the podium yesterday after objecting to his attitude when answering questions during the legislative question-and-answer session. PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES

The legislature’s second question-and-answer session of Control Yuan nominees resulted in heated exchanges between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators and nominees Chien Lin Whei-jun (錢林慧君) and Chen Chien-min (陳健民) yesterday.

DPP legislators Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) and Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) alleged that Chien Lin, a former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator, was nominated in exchange for her support for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) during the presidential campaign earlier this year.

The pair also accused Chien Lin of being inconsistent on the issue of Taiwanese independence, while Chien Lin called the legislators’ insinuation “insulting.”

In response, Chien Lin said the criticism of her was “unfair,” saying she had accepted Ma’s nomination because she “despised the political wrangling between the pan-blue and the pan-green camps” over the past eight years.

Kuan also lashed out at Chien Lin for refusing to answer nearly half of a questionnaire she had distributed to Control Yuan nominees regarding the appropriateness of Control Yuan members retaining their political affiliation, loyalty to the country and their stance on the need for government officials and board members of state-run enterprises to avoid conflict of interests.

Similar criticism was also leveled at Chen, a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator who defended himself by saying the two legislators had deliberately distorted his answers.

Kuan then accused Chen of snarling at the legislators, saying he acted like a “gangster.”

Meanwhile, DPP caucus whip Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) and another legislative whip William Lai (賴清德), who were not given the floor to speak by Vice Legislative Speaker Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), rushed near the podium, asking Tseng to expel Chen from the legislature for his attitude.

Later yesterday, KMT caucus secretary-general Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) said that the caucus would decide whether to allow KMT legislators to approve the Control Yuan nominees in a caucus meeting likely to be held this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

The legislature is scheduled to vote on Ma’s nomination list tomorrow.

At a separate setting yesterday, KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) said he had asked party legislators to support the Control Yuan nominees and review the candidates’ qualifications rationally.

“I ask party legislators to be supportive. I believe in their judgments and the party respects their legislative rights,” Wu said at KMT headquarters when approached for comment.

Wu called on party legislators not to be too “emotional” when reviewing the nominees’ qualifications.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH
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