He had his secretary-general Chen Tang San send a circular around all political parties represented at the Executive Yuan Monday, asking for their “nomination” of candidates.

It’s up to the president to finalize the nomination list and submit it to the Legislative Yuan for confirmation.

The circular, which requires the nomination to be returned before Tuesday, triggered a new political upheaval that may kill the new Control Yuan before it is reborn on February 1.

The decision was taken a week ago when Wang Jin-pyng met the president and persuaded him to agree to submit a new name list of candidates for the Control Yuan on a proportional representation basis.

That means each and every political party with representation at the Legislative Yuan may name candidates in proportion to its representation.

It’s similar to the “spoils” system for federal government bureaucrats, which the United States has tried hard and finally managed to abolish.

According to Chen’s “spoils” system, the Kuomintang and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will each nominate eight candidates, while he reserves the right to name five more.

The People First Party (PFP) is given the right to nominate three, the Taiwan Solidarity Union two (TSU), and the Nonpartisan Solidarity Alliance (NSA) one.

When the president submitted the first name list at the end of 2004, the Legislative Yuan, where the opposition alliance has a majority of one, refused to confirm the nomination.

Opposition lawmakers, calling most of the nominees “unqualified appointees,” demanded that President Chen make up another name list of candidates.

President Chen refused to do so, letting the watchdog body cease to function after February 1, 2003, just like his National Unification Council which did last year to the dismay of the United States, which wanted him to keep his promise not to terminate it.

It is President Chen’s ruling party that started the turmoil.

Tsai Huang-liang, DPP deputy secretary-general, told a press conference early in the morning the governing party, though opposed to the rewarding of “spoils,” agreed to submit its eight-candidate list within the next week.

“We disagreed with the way the candidates are to be recommended,” Tsai said, “but as the president wants to do so, we have to comply.”

At noon, however, the DPP legislative caucus called a hasty meeting, where it was decided the ruling party should not go along.

An embarrassed Tsai had to reverse himself, telling reporters after the meeting the lawmakers want Yu Shyi-kun, DPP chairman, to take a final decision if a candidate list would be submitted in time.

The Kuomintang demanded that the name list be submitted in one month.

Ma Ying-jeou, Kuomintang chairman, said he would organize a screening committee for candidates and head it himself to ensure the “selection is transparent and not on a spoils basis.”

“Nominations can’t be made hastily,” Ma told a press conference. “We need at least one month,” he pointed out.

PFP spokesman Lee Hung-chun expressed “minor reservations.”

“We agree in principle with President Chen’s new plan for nominations,” Lee said, “but we insist that it should be ‘dividing up the spoils.’”

He suggested that more time be allowed for the PFP to name its two ombudsman candidates.

It was a smooth sailing in the TSU, of which former President Lee Teng-hui is the spiritual leader.

The tiny ally of the DPP decided to nominate its secretary-general Lin Chih-chia and former lawmaker Cheng Cheng-lung.

Though it made no comment, the NSA certainly would name its sole candidate in time.

Yeh Chu-lan, reported to head President Chen’s five-member candidate list, declared she would never head the new Control Yuan, which is expected to resume operations next February 1, if all nominees were confirmed in time.

“I have said before,” Yeh said, “I won’t accept nomination as president of the Control Yuan, which is a mosquito house. And I reiterate I won’t.”

A mosquito house is an apt description of most of Taiwan’s public buildings, such as cultural centers and county museums. Few people visit them and mosquitoes are the only visitors.

Cho Chung-ying, a spokesman for the Office of the President, refused comment on Yeh’s response and Ma’s demand.

“We have nothing to say on the nomination of Yeh Chu-lan, while we are in the process of the nomination,” Chu said. “Nor do we want to comment on the demand that the list of nominees be returned in one month,” he added.

Clement Chang, chairman of the board of trustees of Tamkang University, said he doesn’t want to be nominated to head the Control Yuan again.

He was to serve as president of the watchdog body on the 2004 name list.

“A letter was sent to the president by Dr. Chang last month to the effect that he doesn’t want to be nominated again,” Chang’s spokesman said.

Chang waited for an answer from the president in vain.

“A couple of days ago,” his spokesman said, “we were told Dr. Chang might make his letter public.”

He said Chang regretted that the lawmakers refused to act on the nomination for nearly two years. “Dr. Chang doesn’t want another nomination,” he added.

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