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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 KMT caucus vows tighter review of important bills
Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） caucus whip Alex Fai, right, talks with KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao before a meeting at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
The Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） has resolved that all vital bills submitted by the Cabinet will have to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the members at a caucus meeting before the party endorses the bill, party whip Alex Fai （費鴻泰） said yesterday.
Holding its first meeting since the party’s crushing defeat in the nine-in-one elections last Saturday, the caucus concluded that all bills proposed by the Executive Yuan will have to be discussed first by the party’s legislative committee heads, and “if a bill is identified as a major bill, a caucus meeting will be held, in which the bill will be put to a vote and endorsed by the party if it secures a two-thirds majority vote,” Fai said.
Following the KMT’s election losses, the legislature is one of the major stages left for the party, and the party would work closely with the executive team to ensure that the Cabinet initiates major reforms that are in line with public expectations, Fai said.
Asked whether the KMT caucus considers the proposed cross-strait service trade agreement and trade in goods pact major bills, Fai equivocated, saying the issue was not on the caucus meeting’s agenda yesterday.
Unlike Fai, KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei （羅淑蕾）, speaking with characteristic frankness, said that controversial bills such as those pertaining to the cross-strait service trade agreement and the free economic pilot zones should be suspended.
“Bills related to people’s daily lives will be considered top priority,” Lo said.
KMT Legislator Liao Kuo-tung （廖國棟） said that many were expecting a major Cabinet reshuffle, “but since it did come to pass, the party’s legislative caucus is one place where effective decisionmaking can still be made.”
While the KMT emphasized solidarity at the meeting, it has yet to resolve another problem that has plagued the party for months: the feud between President Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng （王金平）.
In September last year, Ma accused Wang of illegally trying to influence the judiciary and said Wang’s KMT membership should be revoked, which would cost him his legislator-at-large seat and therefore the speakership. Wang has been speaker since 1999.
The KMT’s Evaluation and Disciplinary Committee subsequently stripped Wang of his membership. However, Wang fought back and district and high court rulings have so far stymied the KMT’s attempts to expel him.
With Ma stepping down as KMT chairman and Vice President Wu Den-yih （吳敦義） taking over in the interim, KMT members are hopeful that the dispute could be brought to an end.
Wang’s lawyer, Hsu Ying-chieh （許英傑）, yesterday filed a petition with the Supreme Court, requesting that the court ask Wu, as the KMT’s acting chairman, to decide whether he wishes to continue the litigation.
While some KMT legislators have said they hope the party will drop its appeal of the case “for the sake of party unity,” Wang said he respects the party’s handling of the case.
He said that party solidarity is a “move in the right direction” and will help its legislators seeking re-election in 2016.
“They should follow public will,” he said.
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang （呂學樟） said he believed Wu is a more “tactful” person and advised him to drop the lawsuit.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
