TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Opposition lawmakers on Tuesday passed motions condemning Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Meng-an (潘孟安), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), and President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), while formally requesting that the Control Yuan impeach Cho.

The Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee had invited Pan to brief lawmakers on the legality of Cho’s refusal to sign an amended law passed by the legislature. Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said Pan declined to attend, citing constitutional principles and long-standing precedent, per UP Media.

Kuomintang Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) criticized Pan’s decision, arguing that he had an obligation to explain why Lai allowed Cho to block a law from taking effect, per UDN. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), along with KMT legislators Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) and Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), introduced a motion condemning Cho and Lai and calling on the Control Yuan to impeach the premier.

The motion argued that past court interpretations treat a premier’s refusal to countersign legislation as a mechanism to check presidential power, not legislative authority, per CNA. It said the executive branch violated legislative and legal prerogatives by independently judging the constitutionality of a law and preventing it from taking effect.

In a separate motion, Huang, Lo, KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁), and Legislator Lin Chien-chi (林倩綺) condemned Pan for refusing to attend the committee meeting. Both motions passed on the strength of the opposition’s numerical advantage.

Commenting on the votes, Lo said Cho is the first premier to refuse to countersign a law passed by the legislature, per Liberty Times. He also questioned Cabinet Secretary-General Xavier Chang (張惇涵) about a past remark by Pan, in which Pan said a premier’s refusal to sign a law would amount to a “slap in the face” to the president.

Chang said there was no contradiction in this case because Cho acted at Lai’s direction.

For Cho to be impeached, at least two Control Yuan members must propose the case, which would then require approval by nine additional members before being forwarded to the Disciplinary Court, per Tai Sounds.

Huang also signaled his intent to pursue impeachment of Lai, citing remarks Pan made at a meeting on Dec. 25, 2024, in which he said the president must promulgate laws that have cleared the reconsideration process to avoid a constitutional crisis, per Z.Media. Huang argued that the Constitution does not grant the executive branch authority to refuse enforcement of laws it deems unconstitutional.

Huang acknowledged that the opposition lacks the votes needed to impeach Lai but said impeachment remains the appropriate legal remedy.

While the opposition has enough lawmakers to propose impeachment motions, it does not have the 76 votes required to pass an impeachment resolution, per ETtoday. Any successful impeachment would also require review by the Constitutional Court, which is currently unable to reach quorum.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤) criticized Huang’s impeachment push, noting that he has previously called for abolishing the Control Yuan, per SETN. DPP caucus director Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said Huang has avoided pursuing a no-confidence vote against Cho because the TPP risks losing all of its legislative seats, per Liberty Times.

Under the Constitution, a successful no-confidence vote would allow the president to dissolve the Legislative Yuan, triggering new elections that could give the DPP a chance to regain its legislative majority.