Premier Yu Shyi-kun said he would not go to CKS International Airport to bid farewell to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Friday if legislators disagreed with the practice.
"With the Legislative Yuan's consent, I would act according to precedent and go to the airport to see the president off to the US and Central America, while the vice premier would participate in legislative interpellation sessions in my absence," Yu said.
"But I would take questions from legislators if the legislature thought that I should participate in proceedings and interpellations rather than see the president off on Friday morning," Yu added.
Yu was responding to a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Tsai-mei (張蔡美) at the legislature yesterday.
The premier made the undertaking after the Legislative Yuan's Procedure Committee resolved that Yu should stay at the legislature to receive questions from legislators on Friday morning regardless of Chen's departure.
An official communication from the Presidential Office inviting the presidents of the five branches of government to the farewell trig-gered the dispute.
KMT legislators were retaliating after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators blasted them on Monday for paralyzing the legislative agenda by attending a welcoming reception for KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) at the airport when he return from abroad on Monday.
This resulted in the stalling of most legislative committees in the morning while the Education and Culture Committee failed to convene its scheduled meeting owing to lack of a quorum.
DPP legislative caucus whip Chen Chi-mai (
"KMT and PFP members appeared to forget their legislative duty when they decided to show up at the airport to greet Lien. Their absence from the legislature was a waste of taxpayers' money," Chen Chi-mai said.
In response, KMT legislators used the Presidential Office's communication to grill Yu.
Opposition lawmakers argued that the DPP was doing exactly the same thing by mobilizing supporters for Chen's departure on Friday.
"The DPP was obviously using double standards in dealing with the issue," KMT Legislator Chi Kuo-tung (
But Yu told Chi that the nature of Chen's visit was different.
"President Chen is leaving for an overseas visit on behalf of the country and therefore he deserves a send-off by the premier along with the other four heads of the top government branches," Yu said.
"The president engages in this visit in the public interest, whereas the KMT chairman embarked on his trip on behalf of his party," he said.
"One should be scrupulous in separating public from private affairs," Yu said.
Reiterating his respect for lawmakers' opinions, Yu promised, "I shall not impair public interests by prioritizing private affairs."
The legislature decided that Yu should stay at the legislature on Friday while Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) would go to the airport to see off the president.
Deputy legislative speaker . Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) will sit in the assembly in the morning to fill in for Wang.
The president was informed about the dispute and instructed that Yu attend the legislature on Friday, Chen Chi-mai said, as he returned from the weekly meeting of the DPP's Central Standing Committee last night.
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