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Hundreds rally for
no-confidence motion
STEP DOWN: The president and Premier Jiang Yi-huah
should both resign because they have abused their power and also violated the
Constitution, protesters said
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Supporters of the Democratic
Progressive Party and various civic groups rally outside the Legislative Yuan in
Taipei yesterday to show their support for an opposition motion of no confidence
in Premier Jiang Yi-huah’s Cabinet.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
More than 1,000 Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) supporters and members of civic groups rallied outside the
Legislative Yuan yesterday morning ahead of the legislature’s vote on a
no-confidence motion against the Cabinet.
The rallies were organized by the DPP, the Constitution 133 Alliance and the
Taiwan Association of University Professors around the Legislative Yuan compound
to apply pressure on Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators to support the
motion.
DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), senior party members and lawmakers appeared
at the DPP-organized main event, with Su reiterating that both President Ma
Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) should step down for poor
governance and infringement of the Constitution.
“Jiang said that ‘Taiwan could not wait’ in his statement to appeal for support.
We couldn’t agree more. Because Taiwan cannot wait, Jiang must step down since
we have given him too much time,” Su said.
The Constitution 133 Alliance’s effort to recall those KMT lawmakers who failed
to represent the true voice of the people, as well as the DPP’s no-confidence
motion against the Cabinet, symbolize the public’s wish to resolve a flaw in
Taiwan’s representative democracy, said Neil Peng (馮光遠), an award-winning
screenwriter and author who is also the alliance’s spokesman.
“We are trying to tell these politicians that they cannot do whatever they want
without being held accountable,” Peng said.
The slim chance for the motion to pass reflected the gap between the public’s
voice and the legislature, former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who
appeared at the rally for five minutes, said in a statement issued after the
event.
Tsai urged the legislature to launch an investigation into Ma’s alleged abuse of
power and violation of the Constitution, as well as push for constitutional
reform.
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