Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (卼膘嬧) said yesterday he considered it "irrational" that the legislature had canceled personal vehicles for Control Yuan members, suspecting the decision came from dissatisfaction among lawmakers over the investigations conducted by the watchdog.
With support from some Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-proposed resolution passed the legislature on Thursday that abolished the practice that gives each Control Yuan member a vehicle for his or her personal use.
The resolution states that private use of a Control Yuan official's vehicle, when it is not being used for official business, will be prohibited and members would need to reserve a vehicle in advance, a practice that has already been adopted by legislators.
Out of a total of 109 motions proposed by the DPP on the government's spending for this year, the resolution on the Control Yuan's vehicles was the only one that was passed by the legislature.
When asked for comment, Wang said the reason that some KMT lawmakers voted in favor of the resolution might be because the Control Yuan recently impeached Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) over her alleged abuse of public funds on overseas trips.
Wang added the Control Yuan might also have angered the DPP because of the impeachment of former vice secretary-general of the National Security Council Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) over the Papua New Guinea diplomatic scandal.
That the KMT caucus threw its support behind the proposal was interpreted by local media as a lesson it wanted to teach the Control Yuan in the wake of pan-blue lawmakers' rumored frustration over Wang's attitude, which they claim is "arrogant."
KMT legislative caucus whip Chang Sho-wen (?幅恅) denied the allegation.
"Some caucus members said they wanted a free vote on the resolution. As it would not cut the Control Yuan's budget, we thought that was fine," Chang said.
KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (輿郙源) said he was surprised the resolution passed, adding that lawmakers should have put themselves in Control Yuan members' positions.
"Control Yuan members need to travel around the country to investigate cases. If they really need their own cars, that need should be met," Lin said.
DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (卼倷鹹) said that the DPP proposed the resolution to save energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions and had not expected support from the KMT.
The passage of the resolution "reflected the KMT caucus' discontent with the Control Yuan's softness, that fell short of the public's expectations," said DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (奪捺鍍), referring to the Control Yuan's original decision not to impeach Kuang.
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