The Legislative Yuan is holding public hearings today and tomorrow regarding an impeachment motion raised by opposition parties against President William Lai (賴清德).
This morning’s session marked the first impeachment public hearing in constitutional history, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said.
However, he accused the opposition of having no evidence or legal standing to raise the motion, saying their real intention is to require Lai to face unconstitutional questioning.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Amendments passed in 2024 to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan's Power (立法院職權行使法) that would require the president to deliver a state-of-the-nation report to the legislature and submit to live questioning were later ruled unconstitutional, he said.
As those amendments were invalidated, the opposition is now using impeachment proceedings to require the president to appear before the Legislative Yuan, he added.
He urged the opposition to instead discuss this year’s central government budget, which it has repeatedly blocked since last year.
After the public hearings scheduled for today and tomorrow, the Legislative Yuan is to convene plenary committee review sessions on Wednesday and Thursday next week.
The lead proposer would explain the grounds for impeachment and Lai would be invited to give a 15-minute statement followed by questioning.
A second review session is scheduled for May, before the final impeachment vote on May 19.
During the hearing, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) said that Lai has instigated major misconduct and damaged the separation of powers, giving sufficient grounds for impeachment.
Lai’s claim that the motion is a “waste of time” is “utterly absurd,” KMT Legislator Lin Te-fu (林德福) said.
Lai undermined the Constitution and trampled on the rule of law by overturning laws that had passed a third reading at the legislature along with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), he said.
Lai is an unfit president and has been arbitrary and self-willed since taking office, monopolizing power, hollowing out the legislature and overstepping the judiciary, Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Liu Shu-pin (劉書彬) said.
The impeachment motion is not about partisan conflict, but about ensuring that constitutional accountability is recorded in history, she said.
Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) yesterday said that the Presidential Office respects the opposition’s constitutional right to launch an impeachment motion.
However, it hopes they would prioritize national development and public welfare by expediting the passage of the general budget and a special national defense budget, she added.
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