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Thousands rally, demand Chen to quit
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-06-03 20:15 NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE
Ma called on Saturday for a
no-confidence vote in parliament against the cabinet because the opposition
lacks the two-thirds parliamentary majority for a recall motion to
pass.
Under Taiwan's "constitution," a no-confidence vote against the
cabinet, if passed, would force Chen to either choose a new "premier" or
dissolve parliament and call snap elections.
Taiwanese protesters
wave opposition party flags as they call for "president" Chen Shui-bian to
step down over an insider-trading scandal involving his son-in-law in
Taipei June 3, 2006. [Reuters] |
The
Nationalists have a razor-thin parliamentary majority and have eyed the
"premiership" since Chen won the 2000 elections ending more than five
decades of one-party rule. Chen won re-election in 2004 and is barred by the
"constitution" from running for a third four-year term.
"All who are
unhappy with the Democratic Progressive Party's corruption must stand forward
and loudly tell the president: please resign and step down!" said Ma, who plans
to run for the 2008 elections.
"This is not conducive at all to social
stability and could turn into a power struggle," the Central News Agency quoted
"presidential office" spokesman David Lee as saying.
Yu Shyi-kun,
chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said the protest exposed
the growing divisions in the opposition camp.
Even former "president"
Lee Teng-hui, a political ally of Chen, has suggested the "president" should
consider stepping down.
"The leader must be changed if he commits a
mistake. 'The son of Taiwan' is not just one person," Lee said referring to
Chen's self-professed nickname. "Sons of Taiwan are everywhere. Everyone here
are sons of Taiwan," he added.
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