Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said that the DPP's plans to push for an amendment to the Local Systems Law (地方制度法) to abolish elections at the township and county municipality levels is politically motivated.
"The DPP is trying to force the amendment through the legislature when it is well aware that this amendment is highly controversial. Why would the DPP do this if it were not for political considerations?" Wang said.
Though the DPP has repeatedly emphasized that the reform proposal is based on an inter-party agreement reached at the National Development Conference in 1996, Wang said that the DPP has ignored all of the conference's agreements except for this one.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
At a press conference held after a routine nine-member panel meeting headed by President Chen Shui-bian (
Chiou said the reform was hammered out as early as 1996 and has won a high level of support in recent public opinion polls.
Chiou also denied allegations suggesting that the effort by the Executive Yuan to push for the amendment was a tactic aimed at transferring the grassroots political resources currently enjoyed by the KMT to the DPP.
Chiou's denial came hours after Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) visited Wang to lobby for the legislature's support for a list of some 100 pieces of priority legislation targeted by the Executive Yuan.
According to Wang, Chang told him that the Executive Yuan had decided to put aside the "politically sensitive" amendment so as to concentrate its effort on pushing other pieces of legislation that concern the interests of the people.
"The Executive Yuan changed its position probably because of a backlash within the DPP [during the nine-member panel meeting]," Wang said.
Under the amendment, the mayors of townships and county municipalities would be appointed by county and provincial municipal governments after the terms of incumbent mayors expire on Feb. 28, 2002.
Currently over 80 percent of the total of 309 township and county municipal mayors are KMT members, most of whom are heads of local factions and leaders who help the party gain support during election campaigns.
The DPP now controls 12 of the total of 21 counties and provincial municipalities.
If the mayoralties of townships and county municipalities are to become appointed positions, political affiliation is likely to become the main factor in determining who secures the positions.
The KMT has said it is against abolishing the elections unless the move comes as part of a campaign reform package that would include the re-drawing of administrative districts.
Chou Po-lun (
Chou said the DPP is ready to invite other political parties to join the effort for the amendment, which he said will help reduce the frequency of elections, prevent "black gold" politics and upgrade administrative efficiency.
Chou said the DPP needs to try to win public support even if the amendment is bound to face opposition from the KMT.
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