Following the pan-blue camp's decisive victory in Saturday's local polls, cross-strait bills are expected to be some of the hottest topics of debate in the legislature.
The most pressing issue facing the lawmaking body is a plan designed to open Taipei's Sungshan Airport to direct links with Hong Kong and Macau. The proposal is at the top of the agenda for tomorrow's plenary legislative session.
Although President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has announced a three-phase project to realize direct links with China, he insists that the plan must be carried out under the principles of preserving national security and negotiating with Beijing as equals.
Direct links
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chair-man and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
The KMT is expected to use the momentum from Saturday's triumph -- Ma's first election victory since taking the party's helm in August -- to push through its proposed laws, including those on cross-strait relations.
Observers have speculated that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government may be forced to make concessions in cross-strait policy, including on some of the pan-blue camp's bills. But Mainland Affairs Council Spokesman You Ying-lung (
While the KMT is happy with their gains in Saturday's elections, they will lose four seats in the legislature held by victorious candidates. These include Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) representing Taipei County, Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) representing Changhua County, Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) representing Chiayi City and Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) representing Miaoli County.
Slim majority
The pan-blue coalition of the KMT and People First Party (PFP) hold 115 of the legislature's 224 occupied seats and the ruling DPP and its allied party the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) hold 100. After Saturday's polls, in which four KMT legislators won local posts and so will vacate their seats, the pan-blue camp will retain a slim majority of 111 of the 220 occupied seats.
Only one of the vacant seats meets the requirement for holding a by-election, but the pan-blues will hold on to a majority even if they lose that seat.
Still, future cooperation between the KMT and PFP has been thrown into doubt. PFP Chairman James Soong (
So far, three lawmakers -- Chou, Lee Ching-hua (
Soong also said that his party "will not let the KMT continue to dominate in the legislature." KMT Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (
Tseng said that his caucus would also strengthen its communication with the Non-partisan Solidarity Union, which holds eight seats in the legislature.
Responding to Soong's characteristically impulsive remarks, PFP lawmakers yesterday expressed different views on cooperation between the PFP and the KMT.
PFP caucus whip Sun Ta-chian (
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