Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party yesterday repeated that he and other Tainan City Government officials would not attend the Tainan City Council’s question-and-answer session, which is set to begin today.
Instead, he and other officials would respond to councilors’ questions on paper, Lai said.
Lai has been boycotting city council meetings since January, saying that he would not attend until the resolution of corruption cases against Tainan Council Speaker Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
Citing the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), which stipulates that courts must conclude election-related cases within six months, Lai yesterday urged the court to rule on the case as soon as possible.
In response, Lee said today’s session would proceed as planned, as no one could deprive city councilors of their right to monitor the city government.
He said the dates on which council question-and-answer sessions are held are decided in accordance with legal procedures and called on city councilors to perform their duties.
He encouraged city councilors to mobilize voters in their constituencies to audit the session.
“The proceeding will go as planned. [It] makes no difference even if we need to question a scarecrow. Everything will be broadcast live,” Lee said.
KMT Tainan City Council caucus whip Lu Kun-fu (盧崑福) accused Lai of feuding with Lee on a daily basis, saying that the mayor is putting his pride before the public interest.
Tainan District Court spokesperson Kuo Chen-hsiu (郭貞秀) said that Lee has stalled the review process by declining to appear in court, which has delayed its ruling.
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