The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) convener of the legislature’s Procedure Committee “hijacked the vote” amid the process to nominate a new prosecutor-general, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday.
The committee adjourned amid disagreement over KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling’s (翁曉玲) actions after she submitted a draft agenda to the full session instead of putting it to a vote at the meeting.
DPP lawmakers had proposed to add to the agenda President William Lai’s (賴清德) nomination of Supreme Prosecutors’ Office head prosecutor Hsu Hsi-hsiang (徐錫祥) as prosecutor-general.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
DPP Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) said that Prosecutor-General Hsing Tai-chao’s (邢泰釗) term ends on May 7.
If the personnel matter could reach the legislative committee by Friday, public hearings and questioning could be held within a month, Chen said, adding that a plenary session could vote on it on May 5 and pass it to the president to make the appointment, ensuring a seamless transition for the new prosecutor-general to take office on May 8.
However, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) proposed a temporary deferment of adding to the agenda proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) that would further regulate legislators’ visits to China.
Weng asked for opinions from committee members about the TPP’s proposal, with DPP members objecting.
Weng announced that, due to a lack of consensus between the ruling and opposition parties, the draft agenda would be submitted to the full legislature for further deliberation.
She adjourned the meeting, sparking discontent among DPP legislators, who swamped the podium, resulting in a heated exchange.
DPP Legislator Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠) said after the meeting that Weng failed to follow procedure by asking for objections and conducting a vote because not enough KMT members were at the meeting.
Instead, she forced the decision of the agenda to the full session and adjourned the meeting before it was properly concluded, Shen said
“It was the most disgraceful process in the committee’s history,” he said.
The KMT caucus said that Weng followed procedural convention.
It is long-standing practice in the Legislative Yuan that committees submit proposals to the full session to be negotiated when consensus cannot be reached at the committee level, the caucus said.
The DPP should respect long-established procedural practices, it added.
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