The Taiwan People's Party (TPP), with support from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), proposed a constitutional amendment to abolish the Control Yuan.
TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) proposed amendments to articles 3, 4 and 7 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文).
The amendments would abolish the Control Yuan and transfer its audit power to the Legislative Yuan, including giving the latter oversight of the Executive Yuan’s annual accounting and finances.
Photo: Tsung Chang-chin, Taipei Times
At a news conference this morning prior to the final tally, Huang said he was confident his party would reach the 25 percent threshold necessary to formally submit the amendment.
Abolishing the Control Yuan has been a long-term goal of the party, one that former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) also campaigned on in his presidential run last year, but it did not have enough seats in the Legislative Yuan to make it a reality, Huang said.
Now that the proposal has passed the threshold, Huang would ask Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to assemble a constitutional amendment committee, he said.
“The public has had enough of this committee of 'big baby' supervisors,” Huang said.
They abuse their power, violate the law and only work on behalf of their own party, he added.
After the threshold had been reached, Huang on Facebook thanked fellow opposition lawmakers for their support.
The TPP also proposed extending the legislative session until Aug. 31, with KMT caucus secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) expressing support.
The KMT previously proposed extending the session until July 31, which led to criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which accused it of seeking to dodge accountability.
DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that opposition lawmakers are seeking to “maintain their immunity” and have used the Legislative Yuan to obstruct justice.
By extending the legislative session, the opposition can continue to try and “buy votes” against the recall movement through populist bills such as a military pay increase and a proposed NT$10,000 (US$337.10) cash payment, Wu said.
Chinese-language media have reported that each extra day of a legislative session would cost NT$10 million, Wu said, adding that this is a waste of taxpayer money and does not benefit the country.
The DPP has proposed abolishing the Control Yuan, including in the prior Legislative Yuan, but not as an act of political revenge, Wu said.
The DPP is willing to work with opposition lawmakers to promote constitutional reform and improve the system, she added.
The additional articles of the Constitution require that a constitutional amendment be proposed by at least one-quarter of the Legislative Yuan and passed by three-fourths of the members at a meeting with a quorum of three-fourths of all members.
The proposal has 31 supporters of the legislature's 113 lawmakers.
If the proposal is passed, it must be voted on by eligible voters within the free area of the Republic of China, with “yes” votes needing to exceed half of the total number of eligible voters.
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