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Taiwan's Chen survives opposition bid to oust him
2006-06-29
Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian apologized to the nation for the corruption scandals dogging his family and called for dialogue with his opponents and China after surviving a parliamentary vote to oust him. Chen's deputy Annette Lu, meanwhile, urged reforms in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which she said had been tarnished by the scandals. The 55-year-old Chen survived the recall bid after the opposition failed to win support of 148 lawmakers, or two-thirds of the 221-seat parliament. If it had passed, the recall motion -- the first in Taiwan's history -- would have triggered a national referendum on whether to expel Chen before his second term ends in May 2008. "In recent months, political unrest has worsened and the atmosphere of confrontation has heightened to seriously damage Taiwan's internal solidarity," Chen said in a statement released by his office. President Chen "humbly accepts criticism... and looks forward to pushing for political dialogue at home and cross-strait peace talks (with rival China) to unite Taiwan and promote social harmony," it said without elaboration. The president "again apologized to the people for the issues involving him and his family" and urged the opposition to help restore calm on the island. Vice President Lu separately called on her party "to do self-inspection and push for reforms." The recall motion was launched by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) who demanded Chen step down over a series of corruption scandals involving his son-in-law, his wife and some of his top aides. But only 119 legislators cast ballots in favor while all 88 lawmakers from Chen's DPP boycotted the vote. Twelve members of the DPP-allied Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) and two independents cast invalid ballots. KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou called the result "a victory for corruption" and blasted DPP legislators for "standing side by side with corruption." "The DPP used to be known among the public as a clean party, but now they have lost their ideals," Ma told a press conference. Earlier Tuesday, Ma called for calm while addressing thousands of anti-Chen demonstrators outside the parliament building. Thousands of Chen supporters also demonstrated waving banners and shouting slogans but some 5,000 police were mobilized to ensure peace, using barbed wire barricades to separate the two groups. "We are expressing our anger and discontent over the corrupted and incompetent government of Chen Shui-bian in a rational and responsible way," Ma said. "Whether or not the recall motion was passed, it wrote a new page in Taiwan's democratization." Some anti-Chen demonstrators broke into tears after the motion was rejected and others burned effigies of Chen. DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun, holding a white rose, meanwhile appealed for unity "to safeguard the government of the native Taiwanese to fight power struggles initiated by the opposition." "Now the vote is over, and the whole country must return to normal operations," Yu told Chen backers. What started as a campaign against the alleged corrupt practices of Chen's family and government has developed into a political battle between the pro-independence DPP and the opposition, which favors friendly ties with China. Chen's troubles began in May after his son-in-law Chao Chien-ming, a doctor at the prestigious National Taiwan University Hospital, was arrested for alleged insider trading. The president's wife Wu Shu-chen has also been accused of accepting department store vouchers in exchange for political favours, while a top presidential aide has been indicted for corruption. To help defuse the crisis, Chen relinquished some of his powers to Premier Su Tseng-chang, also from the DPP, earlier this month. But he has insisted on his wife's innocence and categorically refused to step down. Chen led the DPP to power in a stunning victory at the 2000 presidential polls, ending the KMT's 51-year grip on power. He was narrowly re-elected to a second and final term in the disputed 2004 election.
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