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Ma
postpones banquet with legislators
UNPREDICTABILITY: Expecting a
long day of debate on the US beef issue in the legislature tomorrow, the KMT
caucus chose to delay the banquet until next Monday
By Flora Wang
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Jan 04, 2010, Page 1
Presidential Office spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) confirmed yesterday that
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) planned banquet with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
legislators tomorrow had been postponed until Jan. 11.
Wang told the Taipei Times that the president had accepted suggestions from the
KMT caucus to put off the gathering for a few days.
“The KMT caucus worried there might be some unpredictable developments [at the
legislature] that day [tomorrow] and could not know with certainty how late
legislators would have to stay [to pass a proposed amendment that would ban the
import of risky beef products],” Wang said.
Wang said the banquet would be held before the Legislative Yuan goes into recess
on Tuesday next week.
Wang made the comment after KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) discussed the
postponement yesterday.
Ma was scheduled to host the banquet for members of the caucus.
Wang on Saturday denied that the dinner was scheduled following a consensus
reached by the legislature to put a proposed amendment to the Act Governing Food
Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) to its third reading tomorrow.
Legislators across party lines agreed on Tuesday last week to help the proposal
clear the legislative floor tomorrow despite a warning by the National Security
Council that relations between Taiwan and the US might be damaged as a result.
The proposal, if passed, would ban imports of “risky” substances, including
cow’s brains, eyes, spinal cord, intestines, ground beef and other related
products from areas where cases of the mad cow disease have been reported over
the past decade.
Asked for topics the president planned to discuss with KMT legislators during
the banquet, Wang declined to elaborate, saying that it would be a “New Year
gathering.”
Asked for comment, KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said the president should be
prepared to accept legislators’ suggestions during the gathering, otherwise the
occasion would be meaningless.
Legislators are also scheduled to vote on a supplementary resolution proposed by
the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that imports of bone-in beef should be
banned until a referendum is held on the matter.
Lin told reporters that the legislature would “surely” complete the amendment
tomorrow, but both the KMT and the DPP might engage in a “war” over the proposed
resolution and that the amendment may not clear the legislative floor until late
at night.
Lin called on the DPP to follow the consensus reached among lawmakers last
Tuesday and refrain from paralyzing tomorrow’s plenary session.
Lin said the KMT would not agree with the DPP resolution because it might
infringe on the rights of the Executive Yuan.
DPP caucus secretary-general Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said the party would not boycott
tomorrow’s plenary session and would abide by the consensus.
Yeh, however, said the DPP would call for a vote on the proposed resolution.
Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan’s Referendum Review Commission said the
commission’s decision to allow or axe a referendum on the beef issue would not
be influenced by the legislature’s plan to amend the Act.
Commission chairman Chao Yung-mau (趙永茂) told reporters that the commission would
vote on the matter on Thursday.
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