Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday agreed that the time was not ripe for toppling the Cabinet, as the issue of redrawing electoral districts had to be resolved first.
The Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, a blue-leaning fringe party, is planning to launch the campaign next week in the legislature to force Ma to demand the Cabinet's resignation, calling on the KMT to support the plan.
The two KMT leaders, however, drew short of supporting the proposal during their one-hour closed-door meeting.
"It's not practical to topple the Cabinet now. We don't have solutions for redistricting yet. What should we do if the president decides to dismiss the legislature?" Wang said yesterday at KMT headquarters.
The president is legally entitled to dissolve the legislature and hold new elections should the legislature topple the Cabinet.
Therefore, Wang said, a new electoral system should be in force to deal with the possibility of the legislature being dissolved by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in the event of the Cabinet's removal.
If Chen were to dissolve the legislature, it would force an election, which would be required to use a "single member, two vote" system because of recent constitutional reforms. It would also mean that the total number of seats in the legislature would be reduced to 113 from 226. Half of all sitting legislators would lose their jobs.
Ma and Wang also discussed long-stalled bills and other legislative business, including a major arms procurement budget and the president's nominations for the Control Yuan.
The arms procurement budget and the nominations for the Control Yuan were likely to pass in the next legislative session, Ma said.
"The KMT caucus has reached a consensus on this issue [the arms procurement budget] ... We will be thinking positively," Ma said.
Wang said the party caucus would discuss the budget bill with the People First Party caucus.
As for the Control Yuan nominees, Ma said the KMT would agree not to raise the approval threshold from one-half to a two-thirds majority to resolve the deadlock.
"But the president should nominate professionals. Otherwise, the real function of the Control Yuan would be limited," Ma added.
Wang also expressed his support for the "sunshine bills" proposed by the KMT that aim to fight corruption, promising to push for the passage of these laws in the Legislative Yuan.
The legislation includes a lobbying bill, a bill regulating political party activities, and amendments to the Public Functionary Assets Disclosure Law (
also see story:
Editorial: Topple the Cabinet? Bring it on
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS