TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — KMT and TPP lawmakers gathered Thursday outside the Legislative Yuan to call for the impeachment of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德).
After filing a request with the Control Yuan to impeach Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), lawmakers said they would initiate proceedings for the impeachment of Lai. At Friday’s press conference, TPP Chair Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) signed a large-print version of the document calling for Lai's removal, near a poster depicting Lai in the garb of an early-20th century warlord, reported CNA.
Taiwan is in the midst of a constitutional crisis after the Cabinet’s refusal to countersign legislation passed by the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan. Lawmakers have accused the president of breaking constitutional norms by refusing to enforce amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures.
An online petition canvassing for public support of the impeachment effort was also launched with the aim of collecting 5.58 million signatures, equal to the number of votes Lai received in last year’s presidential election. Within 18 hours of the petition’s launch on Thursday, it had received over 2 million signatures calling for Lai’s removal, reported UDN.
The Cabinet responded to the impeachment proceedings by saying that the opposition’s efforts are a valid method to resolve the dispute as outlined in the Constitution. Presidential Office Spokesperson Kuo Ya-hui (郭雅慧) claimed the checks and balances of the constitutional system ensure that the executive branch is incapable of abusing its power, per CNA.
Based on the current balance of seats in the Legislative Yuan, the removal of Cho from office is more likely than a successful impeachment effort targeting Lai, reported UDN. If Cho is impeached or subject to a vote of no confidence, the president may have the opportunity to dissolve the legislature and call for new legislative elections.
