TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Legislators from Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), Taiwan's main opposition party, and Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) moved to impeach Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Thursday (Dec. 18) after he refused to countersign an Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財劃法). Cho cited Article 37 of the Constitution to clarify the purpose of returning the issue to constitutional mechanisms, emphasizing that no one can dictate alone.
Cho's decision on Dec. 15 not to countersign the amendment of the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures led KMT legislators Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) and Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), along with TPP legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), to propose a censure motion, which passed. Cho said the request from the Judicial and Legal Affairs Committee (司法及法制委員會) for impeachment demonstrates the necessity of maintaining the Control Yuan's (監察院), Taiwan's government watchdog agency, operations, despite significant budget cuts.
Michelle Lee (李慧芝), a spokesperson for the Executive Yuan (行政院), Taiwan's cabinet, stated the opposition's reference to the Control Yuan reflects their acknowledgment of Taiwan as a nation with a separation of powers. Lee criticized the opposition for paralyzing the constitutional court and using legislative power to infringe on executive authority, affecting the government's budget planning.
Lee emphasized the Executive Yuan's adherence to constitutional order and urged the opposition to prioritize public welfare by promptly reviewing the central government's budget for the upcoming year. Lee warned that if the budget remains unapproved, the government will rely on this year's budget, impacting the execution of new initiatives. ◼