TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Opposition legislators criticized Office of the President Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) on Thursday (Dec. 18) for missing a session on President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) decision not to promulgate a budget allocation law. The Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) and Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), Taiwan's main opposition parties, proposed a motion to petition the Control Yuan (監察院), Taiwan's government watchdog, to impeach Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Taiwan's top executive.
The Legislative Yuan's (立法院), Taiwan's parliament, Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee (司法法制委員會) invited officials for a special report, but Pan did not attend. KMT and Taiwan People's Party members swiftly passed a temporary motion condemning Pan, also targeting Premier Cho for impeachment. TPP legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) also revealed plans to impeach President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), despite knowing the vote won't surpass two-thirds.
Huang contended the presidential impeachment won't succeed but still requires half of the legislators to propose it, leaving a record. Huang criticized Pan for previously warning against a constitutional crisis if laws weren't promulgated, yet now failing to uphold them. KMT's Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) accused Pan of selectively adhering to the Constitution, Taiwan's supreme law.
During a heated exchange, Lo challenged Executive Yuan (行政院), Taiwan's cabinet, Secretary-General Chang Tun-han (張惇涵) and Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙). Chang countered, stating President Lai intends to respect the minority, sparking further debate. Office of the President spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) clarified on Wednesday that the secretary-general attends inquiries only under specific circumstances. ◼