Sat, Jul 18, 2020 page1

• Punches thrown as Chen Chu approved

  YOU ACCUSED: The legislative speaker had rigged a vote for Chen Chu, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang said, adding that it was a ‘scandal’ for a democratic nation

  • By Sean Lin / Staff reporter
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  Amid chaotic scenes, former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Chu (陳菊) was yesterday approved as Control Yuan president, despite Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators attempting to disrupt the vote.

  After Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) announced the start of a vote on the president’s Control Yuan nominees at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, KMT legislators pushed over the two voting booths set up in the main chamber.

  The move triggered a melee, but that did not stop DPP legislators from voting to approve the nominees, while KMT legislators attempted to obstruct the proceedings.

  

  Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Ping-jui, center, throws a punch at Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Ming-che, left, at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP

  KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said that there had been wrongdoing in Thursday’s vote on a motion that marked the end of a review of the nominees and set the rules for yesterday’s vote.

  DPP Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩) was at a TV station recording a political talk show when You put the motion to a vote, but her name lit up on a screen showing who had voted, indicating that someone else had voted for her, Lin said.

  The result should have been annulled just as an election result would be voided if a candidate was found to have bought votes, he said.

  

  Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Luo Chih-cheng yesterday at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei defends the speaker’s podium from a balloon filled with water thrown by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators.

  Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters

  After briefly leaving the main chamber, KMT legislators returned at 11:42am, just 18 minutes before the vote was scheduled to end, and demanded that they be handed ballots.

  Legislative Yuan staffers provided a box for KMT legislators to cast their ballots, but they were determined to cast them on the opposite side of the chamber, which was guarded by DPP legislators.

  The move alarmed the DPP legislators, who attempted to block their KMT counterparts, triggering scuffles.

  

  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators block independent Legislator Freddy Lim, rear second left, as Lim attempts to vote on the Control Yuan nominations at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

  KMT lawmakers claimed that the bottom-right corner of every ballot had been cut out and that the vote was being rigged, while demanding that a booth be set up so that they could vote.

  With just three minutes left before the vote ended, staffers scrambled to provide a voting booth, but it was set up too late for the KMT legislators to use.

  When You ordered that the count begin, it was met with protests from KMT legislators, who threw balloons filled with water at the speaker’s rostrum, while DPP legislators surrounded You and shielded him with placards.

  

  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party legislators, wearing raincoats, scuffle at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday as KMT legislators throw balloons filled with water.

  Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

  Chen Chu’s nomination was approved 65-3, with two spoiled votes.

  The 26 nominees for Control Yuan members were also approved, including Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Su Li-chung (蘇麗瓊), Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee Deputy Chairwoman Shih Chin-fang (施錦芳), former vice minister of education Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠), former DPP legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌), former Taipei deputy mayor Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) and former Garden of Hope executive director Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容).

  The result should have been voided as KMT legislators had not finished voting, Lin said, adding that the KMT caucus would refuse to acknowledge the result.

  When the DPP was in opposition, its legislators stalled votes on nominees by each taking 30 minutes to vote, but when the KMT tried to employ a similar tactic the DPP denied the party its right to vote, he said.

  The legislative speaker had rigged a vote for Chen Chu, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said, adding that it was a “scandal” for a democratic nation.

  You has been hailed as a pioneer of democracy, but he has trampled on democratic values by breaching legislative procedure, he said.

  Chiang questioned whether the DPP intends to approach all legislative votes and reviews in the same forcible manner, warning the DPP that it would feel the wrath of the people if it continues to ignore the opinions of opposition parties.

  The Legislative Yuan Secretariat later yesterday said that an investigation had found that Chen Ying’s electronic voting card had been inserted in DPP Legislator Chang Hung-lu’s (張宏陸) slot in Thursday’s vote, and that consequently Chang’s “yes” vote had not been recorded.

  The mistake was caused by the chaotic scenes in the chamber, which caused some legislators to take the wrong card, the secretariat said, adding that the mistake did not change the number of ballots cast by the DPP caucus or the outcome of the vote.
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