Sat, Dec 10, 2016 page3

• KMT caucus ‘unaware’ of recall plans

  TIT-FOR-TAT FEARS: KMT caucus convener Sufin Siluko said that the DPP might ‘respond to evil with evil’ by making their own demands to initiate legislative recalls

  • By William Hetherington / Staff writer, with CNA
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  The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday revealed that it was unaware of plans by the party’s headquarters to demand a recall of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, saying it learned of the issue from the media.

  KMT caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) said that demands for a recall of DPP legislators being made by the KMT headquarters were never communicated to the party’s caucus.

  Sufin said the KMT caucus only learned about the demands by reading about them in newspaper reports.

  

  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus convener Sufin Siluko, left, Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming, center, and DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin, right, exchange opinions at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times

  The DPP caucus has responded by saying that if the KMT “plays with fire it will get burned.”

  DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the KMT was acting like a group without a leader, comparing their actions to the failed Qing-era Boxer Rebellion, in which an anti-foreign militia believed itself to be invulnerable.

  Ker said that removing people from posts and calling for legislative elections would not put the KMT in a good light, adding that people should only be removed from their positions for legitimate reasons.

  “Support for the KMT is at an all-time low right now. In the end we will see who gets removed from their post,” Ker said.

  KMT Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) has said that a public opinion survey would be used to determine which legislators would be brought up for removal from posts.

  Sufin yesterday told reporters that he does not know what the KMT headquarters is planning, adding that it would be a bit early to recall legislators now, as they have not completed a year in their posts.

  He said that a recall would be met with opposition, adding that the party’s caucus is more conservative on the issue than the party headquarters is.

  “Although opposition to a referendum banning the import of food from nuclear disaster areas is a good reason for a recall, whether that would be enough for across-the-board removal of legislators is yet to be seen,” he said.

  Sufin denied the prevailing view that the caucus sides with KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) as they cooperated on proposing a referendum to oppose the import of food from Japan’s disaster-stricken Fukushima Prefecture, saying: “When goals are clear [and similar] people will naturally work together.”

  “We are not standing on anyone’s side,” he said.

  He said that KMT headquarters had failed by not informing the caucus about the plans to bring up a recall, adding that no sufficient reason for the plan was given and that he was worried the DPP might “respond to evil with evil” by bringing up their own demands for a recall of KMT legislators.

  KMT Culture and Communications Committee Deputy Director Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) said the KMT headquarters would find time to communicate with the caucus on the issue.

  Hu said the KMT would bring up the recall on Feb. 1, adding that it would plan carefully before then.

  Although the party headquarters was slow in communicating with the caucus, it sees the entities as “one family,” Hu said.

  “I hope the caucus will understand our strategic approach. We will step up communication with caucus members in the coming days,” Hu said.

  Responding to Sufin’s concerns about retaliation from the DPP, Hu said he respects Sufin’s thinking, adding that the DPP will not take such action, as the KMT’s demands are “socially just, fair, in opposition to wrongdoing and consistent with the law and the Constitution.”

  Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
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