The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is to hold policy meetings with top officials every Monday to replace the suspended weekly meeting of “the committee of five,” the Presidential Office said yesterday.
KMT caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) will attend the policy meetings as a representative of the legislative branch.
The change comes after improper lobbying allegations against Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) led the KMT to revoke his membership.
Under Ma’s instructions, the KMT revoked Wang’s membership earlier this month over the allegations and filed an appeal against Wang after the Taipei District Court ruled in favor of him when he sought an injuction to retain his membership.
Meetings of the “committee of five,” of which Wang was a member, have been suspended since the Taipei District Court ruled in favor of Wang’s provisional injunction seeking to retain his party membership and position as head of the legislature.
The decision to form another weekly meeting without Wang is seen as another move to alienate him and the KMT faction he leads.
The five members in the policy meeting will be President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), KMT Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) and Lin.
Presidential Office spokesperson Li Chia-fei (李佳霏) said Ma will not make any compromises regarding Wang’s alleged involvement in improper lobbying for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cauces whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), and the administration will make adjustments to decision-making meetings that Wang had been a member of.
“It is our unchanged stance that the administration will continue pushing forth policies while proceeding with the lawsuit,” she said,
“Except for activities under the constitutional structure, we will make necessary adjustments to meetings [that Wang had been participating in],” she said.
The first party policy meeting is to be held today in the Presidential Office, to discuss major bills in the legislature and government policies as the office seeks to enhance communication with the legislative branch, Li said.
The political rift between Ma and Wang has shown no signs of being repaired, despite offers from senior KMT members including, former KMT chairmen Lien Chan (連戰) and Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), to resolve the dispute in the interest of party unity.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday voiced his support for the new weekly meeting and said the decision to replace Wang with Lin is feasible and will strengthen the communication between the administrative and legislative branches.
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