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Taiwanese opposition stick to threats to recall president

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November 7, 2000 

TAIPEI (UNB/AP) - Lawmakers stuck to their threats Monday to seek a recall of President Chen Shui-bian, despite the Taiwanese leader's apology to the head of the island's largest party.

Chen's televised apology on Sunday evening was apparently designed to soothe the opposition, which has accused the president of being rude and disrespectful to Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan.

The Nationalists were furious with Chen when his minority government decided last month that it would halt construction on a nuclear plant. The announcement came just hours after Chen held a special meeting with Lien and told the Nationalist leader he would consider Lien's proposal to finish the nuclear project.

In his apology, Chen acknowledged that the timing of the announcement was inappropriate but that he still stood by his government's decision to scrap the plant.

A senior Nationalist lawmaker, Chen Horng-chi, told TVBS cable news on Monday that the president seemed to be sincere. However, the lawmaker said he was disappointed that the president did not describe concrete measures he planned to take to rectify his mistake in unilaterally scrapping the plant.

"Only expressing your sincerity is not enough," the lawmaker said.

Lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao of the small New Party - which has joined a three-party coalition favoring a recall - also said the president's apology was a good "first step" but that it lacked enough substance.

Chen's government has argued that it has the power to unilaterally decide to stop the nuclear project, which the president says is an environmental threat.

However, the opposition parties - which control the legislature - have argued that Chen should have first consulted with the legislature, which approved funding for the plant.

Lawmaker Chen Horng-chi said that on Tuesday lawmakers would consider measures needed for a presidential recall, something the Taiwanese have never done. He said the opposition coalition would meet Thursday and decide how to proceed with the recall, which he hoped would begin this week.

The recall process involves several steps and could take six months. The first step is completing a petition signed by more than one-fourth of the lawmakers.

Once the petition is submitted, lawmakers vote on whether to hold a referendum on whether to recall the president. If two-thirds of the lawmakers support the referendum, then voters decide whether to oust the president and hold a new presidential election.

Some analysts say the opposition is just out to scare the president and won't push for a recall that could damage the credibility of the island's young democracy.

Other political watchers say the vengeful Nationalists are ready to unseat Chen, whose March election victory ended the party's five-decade-long grip on the presidency.