Taiwan opposition lawmakers from the Chinese Kuomintang party (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) announced a plan to impeach the region's leader Lai Ching-te at a press conference held in Taipei on Friday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The initiative, which also targets Cho Jung-tai, head of the island's executive body, came amid the stand‑off sparked by the refusal of the "executive body" to countersign a revenue‑sharing bill passed by the "legislative body," according to Taiwan-based media. The act, according to Taiwan-based media, would reallocate resources from the region's authorities to local cities.
On Thursday, opposition lawmakers Huang Kuo‑chang (TPP), Lo Chih‑chiang (KMT) and Wang Hung‑wei (KMT) tabled two censure motions and called on the "legislative body" to begin impeachment proceedings against Cho. Later on the day, Huang, also the head of TPP, said they would officially announce a plan to impeach Lai as well.
In a statement released by TPP on its website, the opposition party said Cho, emboldened by Lai, has flagrantly refused to countersign or implement the "fiscal revenue and expenditure act" passed by the island's "legislative body," and this open defiance sets a grave and dangerous precedent in constitutional history.
Under the lead of former lawmakers Kuo Cheng-liang and Chiu Yi, people in Taiwan on Thursday launched an online petition to "impeach Lai Ching-te," aiming to collect 5,586,019 signatures, exactly the number of votes Lai received in the 2024 regional leader election, in order to formally submit an impeachment request to the relevant authorities, according to a report from udn.com.
By 12 noon on Friday, the number of signatures had already exceeded 2 million, according to media reports on the island.
According to Taiwan media reports, under the relevant regulations in the Taiwan region, for the "legislative body" to propose an impeachment case against the regional leader or deputy leader of the Taiwan authorities, it requires a proposal by one-half of the lawmakers, a resolution by more than two-thirds, followed by review by the "grand justices" of the judicial body. The impeachment is established only after obtaining agreement from more than two-thirds of the grand justices, with the number of agreeing justices being no less than 9, upon which the impeached person is removed from office.
Taiwan-based media analyses note that, given these high thresholds and the current seat distribution in the "legislative body," where the opposition holds a slim majority but falls short of the required two-thirds, an impeachment against Cho has a realistic chance of advancing, while one against Lai is almost certain to fail.
The Taiwan-based China Times News pointed out that the opposition's primary goal is to pressure Lai into appearing before the "legislative body" to provide explanations and face direct questioning. Should he refuse again, analysts say, he risks being branded as showing "contempt for public opinion."
Political infighting on Taiwan island has intensified continuously this year. Analysts believe that since taking office, the Lai authorities have persecuted dissenting voices through judicial and other means, while continuously stirring up tensions across the Taiwan Straits.
The impeachment plan came about 5 months after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)'s recall campaign against 24 KMT lawmakers, which ended with the KMT's overwhelming victory with none of the proposals receiving more votes in favor of the recall than against it, Xinhua reported.
The DPP currently holds 51 seats in the island's 113-seat legislature, making it a minority party. Observers believe that although the recall campaign appeared to be initiated by "civil groups," it was in fact orchestrated by the DPP authorities led by Lai Ching-te, in an attempt to reverse their disadvantage in the legislature through recalls and by-elections, according to Xinhua.
Global Times
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