A KMT legislator yesterday said the party's intention to punish members over the recent Legislature Yuan's showdown over the Council of Grand Justices' nominees was tantamount to "forsaking KMT colleagues for the sake of winning favor from PFP Chairman James Soong (
"If KMT headquarters is to take disciplinary action over the [grand justice] furor, then all I have to say is that these KMT decision-making officials are simply betraying party members in order to kiss up to Soong," Legislator Chen Hung-chang (陳宏昌) said.
Chen was speaking in response to the KMT legislative caucus's intention to turn him over, along with two colleagues, to the party's Evaluation and Discipline Committee for punishment.
Chen disobeyed a caucus order to vote with his party Friday for a postponement on the confirmation date of President Chen Shui-bian's (
The two other KMT lawmakers were Lee Sen-zong (
KMT spokesman Alex Tsai (蔡正元) yesterday said that the party's legislative caucus is expected to submit a list of renegade politicians to the KMT's Evaluation and Discipline Committee, which would then convene a meeting to investigate the lawmakers' conduct.
"These legislators are subject to party disciplinary action, though the severity of the punishment will remain unknown until the committee convenes its meeting," Tsai said, adding that the committee meeting is likely to take place following the legislative session.
Chen argued that "it is unreasonable" for party headquarters to punish him over last Friday's vote because never once did the caucus speak of possible party disciplinary action if lawmakers didn't follow its orders.
"I don't think that the issue of nominees is one that needs to be subjected to any party line," he said.
Chen said he believed Soong was working behind the scenes to delay the confirmation of the nominees.
Chen's comments about Soong echoed the DPP's accusation that Soong has been playing a leading role over KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) in the KMT-PFP decision-making mechanism.
Lee said that he had no complaints and would accept all forms of party disciplinary action if the party headquarters does decide to punish him.
PFP spokesman Huang Yih-jiau (
Hwang said Yang failed to make it to last Friday's assembly because she had to visit the US to attend her children's graduation.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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