The constitutional interpretation on the NCC was hailed by pan-green legislators, while their pan-blue counterparts denounced it as the grand justices' way of pandering to the government.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus asked National Communications Commission (NCC) members to resign immediately, with its caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) saying that they should not remain in their posts now that the NCC had been ruled an unconstitutional institution.
Another DPP caucus whip, Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻), said the constitutional interpretation was not good enough.
"We don't see the necessity of having a two-year sunset clause. It [the NCC] should be dismissed at once," he said.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) shared Chen's view.
TSU caucus whip David Huang (黃適卓) yesterday demanded the government immediately stop allocating a budget for the NCC.
`meaningless'
"The two-year grace period was meaningless. Only the dissolution of the NCC and the returning of its duties to other government departments can facilitate the necessary amendments to the Organic Law of the National Communications Commission (
Pan blue legislators, however, disagreed with the grand justices on the interpretation.
"I feel so disappointed that the grand justices, who are supposed to be unbiased, have turned themselves into the hired thugs of the government," Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), the convener of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) policy committee.
Tseng said that NCC members should not resign.
stay put
"They should stay in their posts. We don't rule out filing a request for a further constitutional interpretation," he said.
Tseng said that in other countries there were no successful examples of an independent authority comprised of members whose numbers were in proportion to the seats each party holds in the legislature, and that it was the government who wanted to dominate the NCC.
People First Party caucus whip Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) criticized the grand justices for writing the constitutional interpretation to "pander to the government."
"If the NCC is unconstitutional, why did the grand justices grant a two-year grace period? Isn't that illogical? The constitutional interpretation only proves that the grand justices had already taken politics into consideration when they discussed the issue," he said.
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