o topple recently appointed Premier Chang Chun-hsiung's newly formed Cabinet. Lawmaker Fu Kun-chi, PFP legislative caucus whip, said yesterday his party is ready to propose a no confidence vote on Premier Chang.
If the vote were passed, Chang would have to resign as premier. There's a possibility he might ask President Chen Shui-bian to dissolve the Legislative Yuan.
After all is said and done, Fu said, the overthrow of the Cabinet is the only option open to end the current political stalemate between the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and opposition parties, especially the Kuomintang.
However, Wang Jin-pyng, president of the Legislative Yuan, disagreed, with that scenario.
A former vice chairman of the Kuomintang, Wang said his party is still considering joining hands with the PFP to oust the new premier, who has yet to make his mandatory first administrative report.
"Let things take their natural course," said Wang, who suddenly turned a philosophical Taoist. "But I don't think the overthrow of the Cabinet will help solve the problems."
Wu Den-yih, Kuomintang secretary-general and veteran lawmaker, signaled cooperation with the PFP in getting rid of the head of government who was sworn in Monday.
"We're still considering all options, the toppling of the Cabinet being one of them," Wu said. "Judging by the track record of Chang's first Cabinet, the second-time premier may have to be removed."
He referred to the crisis Chang triggered by suspending work on Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant in 2000, when Chang was premier.
President Chen had the work resumed in 2001 to solve the crisis, but Taiwan suffered losses totaling at least NT$100 billion in penalties for the suspension and increased costs for the delay in the completion of the project by more than five years.
With the Kuomintang going along with its ally PFP, the no confidence vote would pass the legislature, where they control a majority of two. Moreover, members of the Nonpartisan Solidarity Alliance are ready to vote with them.
"Go right ahead," defied Ker Chien-ming, Democratic Progressive Party legislative caucus whip.
President Chen would be asked to dissolve the parliament, if the no-confidence vote were passed, Ker threatened. The president would then call new legislative elections.
Ker appears confident that the ruling party is going to win the elections.
Even if the president didn't call the elections, voters have to go to the polls in early December to elect a new Legislative Yuan.
"It seems," Ker ridiculed, "that the opposition is at its wit's end. Otherwise, it won't even try (to vote the premier out of office)."
The Kuomintang has yet to announce the decision to work together with the PFP to sack Chang, because legislative president Wang withholds support.
He came under fire from his colleagues in the parliament.
The Legislative Yuan had an idle plenary meeting yesterday.
Kuomintang lawmakers boycotted the morning session to hold a general caucus meeting, where they complained against Wang's failure to put to a vote a critical bill to reorganize the Central Election Commission.
They suspected Wang was secretly helping the ruling party to stall the bill, which, if adopted, would wrest the control of the commission.
Now under control of the government, the commission is believed to sway the next legislative elections in favor of the ruling party.
The commission has to be reorganized by June 26. The opposition wants to have new commissioners appointed by all political parties according to their proportional representation in the Legislative Yuan.
Wang called a meeting of consultations between the ruling party and the opposition in the afternoon to make the Legislative Yuan idle for the whole day.
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