The Legislative Yuan today passed two motions under the opposition’s majority condemning Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and requesting that National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) step down.
Both motions were proposed by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
In its proposal regarding Wu, the TPP said that Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑), Wu’s former assistant during his tenure as minister of foreign affairs, is facing severe penalties for leaking national security secrets to China.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The Taipei District Court in September sentenced Ho to eight years and two months in prison for passing along sensitive information on foreign relations collected as Wu’s assistant.
Ho’s actions seriously threatened national security and diplomacy, but Wu has since evaded legislative oversight, harming Taiwan’s constitutional system, the proposal said.
Wu is no longer fit to serve his position and should resign to assume his due political responsibility, it said.
The motion was passed with 52 votes in favor and 48 votes against.
In its proposal regarding Cho, the TPP said the premier should bear the full responsibility for the Cabinet’s overall performance.
During his tenure, Cho has disregarded constitutional rights protections, failed to respect constitutional boundaries and harmed the democratic separation of powers, causing a constitutional impasse, division between parties and social unrest which all remain difficult to solve, the proposal said.
“National interests are always above party interests, and party interests should never supersede the people’s interests,” it said.
The motion was passed with 55 votes in favor and 48 votes against.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said the Cabinet regrets that it was condemned by the legislature for upholding the Constitution, and urged lawmakers to adhere to its constitutional duties and expedite review of this year's budget.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus secretary-general Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) said the Cabinet has already put forward many proposals awaiting deliberation in the legislature, and called on the opposition to prioritize people’s livelihoods and stop “pointless political infighting.”
While the opposition moved to condemn Cho and Wu, they also blocked a DPP proposal to condemn Beijing for its military exercises earlier this week from even being discussed, Chen said.
The NSC said the motion sends the wrong signal to the outside world and provides Beijing with an opportunity to further divide Taiwanese society and conduct cognitive warfare.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua, Su Yung-yao and CNA
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