Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said he has signed a resignation letter and would leave the legislature at the end of this month.
The move was in line with the TPP’s “two-year clause” for its legislators-at-large, requiring them to step down after two years, cutting the four-year legislative term in half to enable more TPP members to serve as lawmakers.
In an interview on an online streaming show, Huang said he signed the resignation document yesterday, which would be submitted on Jan. 31, so that a new legislator can take up his post on Feb. 1.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The show host also asked Huang about the progress of an amendment to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法), as TPP Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) would need to step down at the end of this month under the “two-year clause.”
Chen and former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) visited the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucuses on Friday last week seeking support for the amendment.
Huang said Chen’s situation is unique, and she would remain in the legislature and work with Ko on the bill’s passage, while Huang and the other six TPP lawmakers would step down.
Although Ko had asked Huang to stay in the legislature, Huang said that as party chairman, he wants to set an example to other party members.
He would still attend meetings every Tuesday and Friday after he resigns from his post, he added.
Huang criticized DPP lawmakers for remaining in the legislature while campaigning for mayor or county commissioner offices, particularly DPP legislators from Tainan and Kaohsiung.
DPP Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文), head of the party’s Tainan branch, said he did not understand Huang’s intention for commenting on the issue, as DPP primaries in Tainan and Kaohsiung are ongoing, and candidates have not yet been determined.
Meanwhile, the KMT has nominated legislators Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) and Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) as Tainan and Kaohsiung mayoral candidates respectively.
Ko Chih-en said that many KMT and TPP supporters had hoped Huang would remain in office.
As the KMT has no legislators from Kaohsiung, it has assigned legislators-at-large to run for mayor in the city, and to cultivate local support for the KMT, she said.
Hsieh said that every political party has its own plans, and there is no need to rush, as there is still time before the year-end elections.
Additional reporting by Wang Chu-hsiu, Wang Jung-hsiang and Tsai Wen-chu
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