Rifts began to appear in the Demo-cratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday over how President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) should react to a corruption scandal, as the party officially said it supported him, although some members called on him to "temporarily" resign.
DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) told reporters that the DPP might ask Chen to step down "officially or unofficially," and allow the vice president and the Executive Yuan to run the government to "prevent political opposition."
Cheng said the opposition parties will not have any reason to push for a recall motion if the president were to temporarily step down.
DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
He added that the president did not explain clearly many questionable points about the "state affairs fund" case during his televised address on Sunday.
Lee said that the DPP should also investigate the case.
DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (
DPP Legislator Kao Chih-peng (
He said there were no regulations that allowed the president to "take leave," adding that if Chen asked for such leave, it could trigger a constitutional crisis.
Meanwhile, DPP legislators Lan Mei-chin (
But not everyone in the pan-green camp was so forgiving.
Jou Yi-cheng (
"If he stays, he is the president constitutionally. He can exercise his constitutional power, but we refuse to take him as our political leader," Jou said.
"His political leadership is already denied [by us]," Jou said.
The pro-independence Taipei Society also issued an official statement on Saturday urging Chen to step down.
The society's president, Hawang Shiow-duan (黃秀端), told the Taipei Times that the society's stance remained unchanged after Chen's national address.
She said Chen may not be able to lead the country effectively even if he finishes his term.
"In terms of the cost the public has to pay, the president's resignation is the best choice," Hawang said.
Meanwhile, despite pessimism over whether a third motion against Chen could pass, pan-blue lawmakers yesterday said that they would still introduce the motion.
The third recall motion is expected to be placed on the legislative agenda for review by the pan-blue dominated Procedure Committee today.
However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) lawmakers were still divided on whether to call for a no-confidence vote against Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), a move that might result in the dissolution of the legislature.
"It's a fanciful hope that the president would step down voluntarily. If the third recall motion fails, we would propose a no-confidence vote," PFP Spokesman Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said.
But KMT caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) declined to put his weight behind a no-confidence vote, only saying that the party did not rule out forcing Chen's resignation by "other measures" should a third recall fail.
Lee said that it was likely that a third recall motion would be doomed to fail because of the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) about-turn on the issue.
"Considering this, KMT Chairman Ma [Ying-jeou (馬英九)] should get tough on a motion of no-confidence," he said.
The legislature might schedule a vote on the third recall on Nov. 24 if the motion is put onto the legislative agenda today.
A recall motion requires the backing of two-thirds of all sitting legislators to pass, which would initiate a public referendum on whether Chen should step down, while a no-confidence motion needs just a simple majority of sitting legislators.
The pan-blue lawmakers, holding a slim majority, would have no difficulty in toppling the Cabinet, but the president's constitutional power to dissolve the legislature after a Cabinet is toppled makes some of them hesitant to support it.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Office yesterday declined to comment on the DPP legislators' proposals that Chen Shui-bian take a leave of absence.
Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (李南陽) said that since the proposals are personal opinions of individual lawmakers, he would not comment until the DPP reaches a consensus on the matter at its weekly Central Standing Committee meeting tomorrow.
also see story:
Editorial: Should he stay or should he go now?
TECH EFFECT: While Chiayi County was the oldest region in the nation, Hsinchu county and city, home of the nation’s chip industry, were the youngest, the report showed Seven of the nation’s administrative regions, encompassing 57.2 percent of Taiwan’s townships and villages, became “super-aged societies” in June, the Ministry of the Interior said in its latest report. A region is considered super-aged if 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The ministry report showed that Taiwan had 4,391,744 people aged 65 or older as of June, representing 18.76 percent of the total population and an increase of 1,024,425 people compared with August 2018. In June, the nation’s elderly dependency ratio was 27.3 senior citizens per 100 working-aged people, an increase of 7.39 people over August 2018, it said. That
‘UNITED FRONT’: The married couple allegedly produced talk show videos for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to influence Taiwan’s politics A husband and wife affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were indicted yesterday for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections. Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), allegedly received a total of NT$74 million from China between 2021 and last year to promote candidates favored by Beijing, contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said. The couple acted as Beijing’s propaganda mouthpiece by disparaging Hong Kong democracy activists
EARLY ARRIVALS: The first sets of HIMARS purchased from the US arrived ahead of their scheduled delivery, with troops already training on the platforms, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the south of Taiwan proper on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second consecutive day it has reported such activities. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Its arms sales to Taipei include a US$2 billion missile system announced last month. The MND said that from 9am yesterday,
A Control Yuan member yesterday said he would initiate an investigation into why the number of foreign nationals injured or killed in traffic incidents has nearly doubled in the past few years, and whether government agencies’ mechanisms were ineffective in ensuring road safety. Control Yuan member Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) said in a news release that Taiwan has been described as a “living hell for pedestrians” and traffic safety has become an important national security issue. According to a National Audit Office report released last year, more than 780,000 foreign nationals were legally residing in Taiwan in 2019, which grew to more than