Opposition lawmakers yesterday lambasted the government's plan to auction off a 3 percent stake in Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) next week and threatened to boycott the special legislative session proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus.
They may also indefinitely postpone the upcoming regular legislative session slated for Sept. 13, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) said yesterday.
"What the government does is savage," Tsai said.
"They totally ignore decisions made by the legislature. What is the point of having legislative meetings when the executive branch ignores the decisions we make?" he asked.
Tsai made the remarks after the opposition-dominated legislature passed a resolution in May to ban all activities of the state-owned company's share-sales plans, both domestically and abroad.
He yesterday charged that the government is "100 percent" in collusion with business conglomerates by defying the lawmaking body's decisions.
Tsai, however, said that he would agree to Chunghwa Tele-com's disposal of its stakes if it was willing to sign a group contract with its 28,000 employees to ensure their best interests and agree to sell its stake to private owners rather than conglomerates.
Tsai said that he is in favor of privatizing the state-owned company, but the company's shares have to go to the public, not to conglomerates nor through an American Depositary Receipts (ADR) issue.
In a bid to stop Chunghwa Tele-com from selling stocks through an ADR issue, Tsai, with the endorsement of over 100 lawmakers, filed an application for a constitutional interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices on July 15.
The applicants also requested that the Grand Justices issue an emergency ruling to halt the Chunghwa Telecom shares disposal plan before a final constitutional decision is made. Their request, however, was overruled last Friday.
People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) criticized the government's move as in "contempt" of the legislature's power, and threatened to cut the Ministry of Transportation and Communications' annual budget.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus whip Mark Ho (
"Regardless of whether the legislative resolution is controversial, the executive branch should have respect for the legislature's joint decision," he said.
"The DPP government should brace itself for a substantial cut in its annual budget during the upcoming legislative session," he said.
A ministry specialist, who asked to remain anonymous, argued that the legislature's resolution does not apply to the case.
"While the resolution was made in May this year, the budgets earmarked for the release of Chung-hwa Telecom's shares were for 2000 and 2001, both approved by the legislature at the time," he said.
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