The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday criticized President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) nominations for the Control Yuan, questioning whether the agency would be able to remain impartial given that many of the nominees have ties to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
“The entire Control Yuan has been painted green,” KMT Culture and Communications Committee chairwoman Alicia Wang (王育敏) said at a news conference at the KMT headquarters in Taipei.
Many of the nominees — Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠), Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Chao Yung-ching (趙永清) and Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) — are former DPP lawmakers, Wang said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Another nominee, Lin Kuo-ming (林國明), headed a national association of lawyers in support of Tsai’s re-election campaign, she said.
Among the nominees, “nearly 90 percent are people who have a good relationship with the pan-green camp,” she added.
The Presidential Office on Monday announced the president’s 27 nominations for the Control Yuan, including former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Chu (陳菊) as president.
Two other nominations, including vice president, remained unfilled following the withdrawal from the nomination process of former Taitung County commissioner Justin Huang (黃健庭) and former New Taipei City deputy mayor Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢).
Those two nominees are expected to be announced at a later date.
The Control Yuan consists of 29 members who serve six-year terms and are nominated by the president, with the consent of the legislature.
The terms of the incumbent Control Yuan members end on July 31, with new members expected to assume their roles the following day.
Speaking at the news conference at which the nominations were announced, Chen Chu said that she would resign from the DPP and disengage from any political activity should she be appointed Control Yuan president.
Given Chen Chu’s status as a senior member of the DPP, her resignation from the party would not be sufficient to convince the public of her impartiality, Alicia Wang said.
Separately yesterday, the KMT announced that Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee (李眉蓁) would be its candidate in the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election.
Lee serves as city councilor for Kaohsiung’s Nanzih (楠梓) and Zuoying (左營) districts.
The by-election is to be held on Aug. 15 after former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) was removed from office following a successful recall vote on June 6.
The DPP’s candidate is former vice premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), who ran against Han in 2018.
The KMT is to hold its weekly Central Standing Committee meeting in Kaohsiung today.
Additional reporting by CNA
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