The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) today boycotted a Legislative Yuan committee hearing on a motion to impeach President William Lai (賴清德), calling the move a political farce by the opposition.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucuses initiated impeachment proceedings against Lai on Dec. 26 last year, after Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) refused to countersign a fiscal planning bill.
The plenary committee held a hearing today, inviting government officials and members of the public to present their views.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The KMT and TPP sent experts, academics and party legislators to attend the hearing, while the DPP did not send anyone.
A second review meeting is to be held on May 13 and 14, with Lai invited to appear and provide an explanation.
The Legislative Yuan is to hold the impeachment vote on May 19.
Under the Additional Articles of the Constitution (中華民國憲法增修條文), an impeachment motion against the president or vice president must be proposed by at least one-half of all legislators and approved by at least two-thirds.
In other words, it requires at least 76 votes in favor for the case to be submitted to the Constitutional Court for review.
As the DPP holds 51 out of 113 legislative seats, the chances of the motion passing are slim.
At the hearing today, attendees explained why Lai should be impeached, arguing that it is a justified, legally grounded and constitutional action, consistent with the spirit of constitutional integrity.
The clearest reason to impeach Lai is that he directed Cho not to countersign the fiscal planning bill, retired National Taiwan University political science professor Hwang Giin-tarng (黃錦堂) said.
This was a deliberate act that contravenes the Constitution, as it concerns the structure and division of powers between the Executive Yuan and Legislative Yuan, Hwang said, calling it the most serious constitutional contravention, driven by electoral considerations.
Erroneous energy policies are even worse than corruption, Climate Vanguards founder Yang Chia-fa (楊家法) said, adding that energy policy is the foundation of a nation’s survival.
Lai’s energy policies have been inconsistent, leaving implementing agencies and the public unsure how to respond, Yang said.
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