Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) announced yesterday that the party would be initiating a motion of no confidence against the Cabinet as early as today to “have the Taiwanese be the judges of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration with ballots in their hands.”
“We are initiating the proposal as a constitutional measure to counter the constitutional crisis created by Ma and to stabilize domestic politics... Since the people no longer trust the current administration, a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet is an inevitability,” Su told a press conference, held at the DPP headquarters to coincide with the national day ceremony.
More than 70 percent of the voters saw Ma and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) as incompetent for lying, obstruction of justice and infringement of the Constitution during the ongoing political strife between Ma and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) which also involved wiretaps on the legislature, Su said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The DPP legislative caucus is expected to propose a no-confidence vote in a Legislative Yuan plenary after collecting the signatures of more than 38 — one-third of the current 112 — lawmakers.
The Additional Articles of the Constitution stipulates that 72 hours after a no-confidence motion is made, an open-ballot vote must be taken within 48 hours. The motion is deemed passed if at least half the lawmakers vote for it, which means the DPP would need 57 votes for the motion to pass.
Controlling only 40 seats, the DPP would need votes from other opposition parties and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to pass the threshold. With the Taiwan Solidarity Union, the People First Party and at least one independent lawmaker lending support for a combined 46 or 47 votes, the DPP would need to pry away 10 or 11 votes from the KMT.
Several DPP members and political analysts observed that the action could paradoxically benefit Ma because the threshold is high and because no motion of no confidence could be proposed within a year if the current proposal fails.
Additionally, they observed that a successful vote, which would lead to dissolution of the legislature, would likely help Ma remove Wang from his position as speaker and control the KMT caucus.
However, Su appeared to be unfazed, reiterating that the motion was “the right thing to do” and saying that the party “was not giving up on other options” — impeachment and recall — as well.
Ma and Jiang lied to the Taiwanese, collaborated with judicial officials to remove the legislative speaker with information obtained by alleged illegal wiretapping and tried to infringe on legislative power, all of which could have led to their resignation in other democracies, Su said.
When the DPP could submit the proposal would be decided by the latest developments in the legislature, where the KMT caucus voided the agenda of the legislative plenaries today and on Tuesday. The date and meeting agenda of the next plenary is awaiting further party negotiations.
The DPP initiated a motion of no-confidence against former premier Sean Chen (陳?) in September last year. The party lost the vote, 66 to 46, but Chen was eventually replaced by Jiang in February.
The KMT yesterday slammed the DPP for filing its motion on Double Ten National Day, and criticized the party for boycotting Jiang’s report on the legislative floor.
Meanwhile, in response, the Presidential Office yesterday expressed regret over the DPP’s plan to initiate a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet, and urged the party to present solutions to foster political stability and economic growth instead.
Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) cited Ma’s National Day speech and said the government aimed to find viable ways forward for Taiwan by facilitating economic liberalization while raising the competitiveness of the service sector after the nation signed the cross-strait service trade agreement with China this year.
“The DPP should abandon its political manipulation and join the government to fight for the economy. This will be what the public really wants,” she said.
Separately yesterday, Wang said he respected the DPP’s right to initiate the motion, and said the legislature will handle the motion in accordance with standard procedures.
If the motion is filed, there will be a three-day “cooling off period” to allow the DPP to retrieve the motion. If the party insisted on initiating the motion, the legislature will hold a meeting to review the motion on the fourth day and vote on it on the fifth day, he said.
BAIL APPEALS: The former vice premier was ordered to be held incommunicado despite twice being granted bail and paying a total of NT$12 million in bond The Taoyuan District Court yesterday ordered the detention of former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and that he be held incommunicado. The court made the ruling during a bail hearing after prosecutors appealed its bail ruling twice. Cheng on Saturday was released after posting bail of NT$5 million (US$153,818). However, after prosecutors lodged an appeal, the High Court on Monday revoked the original ruling and ordered the Taoyuan District Court to hold another bail hearing. On Tuesday, the district court granted bail to Cheng a second
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
PEACE AND SECURITY: China’s military ambitions present ‘the greatest strategic challenge to Japan and the world, Japan’s annual defense white paper said yesterday Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion. Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion. “Because of that increase in military activity,
HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei. ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers