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Policy meetings to be
held without Wang
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter
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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