Undeterred by the result of a no-confidence motion against Premier Sean Chen (陳冲), which failed to pass the 113-seat Legislative Yuan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday separately proposed an idea to recall President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on May 20 next year, the day that is set to mark his first full year in office following his re-election in January.
The Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) stipulates that a proposal of recall should be proposed by no less than one-quarter of the total members of the legislature and agreed by no less than two-thirds and that a president or vice president who has not been in the position for one year may not be recalled.
As the no-confidence motion launched by the DPP and the TSU to topple Chen’s Cabinet failed yesterday, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that recall measures against Ma “have turned into a pressing issue.”
Separately, TSU Legislator Hsu Chun-hsin (許忠信) said that Ma should be recalled because he is the mastermind behind the problematic policies which have led to a slowdown in the nation’s economy.
“The result of the no-confidence motion shows the voice of Taiwanese people has been defeated by the ‘violence of the legislative majority’ of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Even though some KMT lawmakers also agreed this Cabinet is unfit to govern, they still cast a ‘no’ vote and acquiesced to Ma’s wishes. This is a betrayal of the will of the Taiwanese people,” TSU caucus whip Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲) said.
She questioned Chen’s promise to boost the economy, saying that he has not sought to replace “the incompetent heads of the Cabinet agencies responsible for economic and labor policies.”
Chen has been invited to deliver an administrative report to the legislature on Friday. The TSU caucus said it is to continue blocking Chen from taking to the podium and will continue to do so as long as the Ma government refuses to replace Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘), Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) and Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄).
Asked about the opposition parties’ plans to try to unseat Ma, Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) — head of the KMT’s policy committee — said he hopes to see reconciliation between the ruling and opposition parties.
If the legislative wrangling stops, the government would be able to put its full strength behind economic recovery efforts, he said, urging opposition parties not to boycott Chen’s administrative report or to “oppose for the sake of opposing.”
Additional reporting by CNA
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