The Legislative Yuan passed a major law revision May 18 that in effect expands lawmakers’ power to impeach the president or vice president.
The Legislature amended the “Legislative Yuan Functioning Act” by removing Article 42 of the law that stipulates the nation’s president or vice president cannot be impeached “unless he or she is charged with having committed an act of rebellion or treason.”
Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang of the ruling Kuomintang said the amendment was only passed in order to bring the law in line with the Republic of China Constitution, which underwent revisions in 2000 and removed the precondition for impeachment of the head of state.
It was this restriction that had prevented the KMT-dominated Legislature from launching impeachment proceedings against former President Chen Shui-bian when Chen was implicated in a series of corruption scandals during his term in office between 2004 and 2008.
According to current laws, in order for an impeachment to stand, a proposal must first be endorsed by at least half of the legislators, approved by two-thirds of the Legislature and agreed upon by the Council of Grand Justices.
However, with the removal of the precondition in Article 42, the nation’s leader will now face the possibility of impeachment for a variety of reasons that could range from corruption to poor governance.
Lu said in the future, lawmakers would need to take public opinion into account when considering whether to impeach the president. Meanwhile, he continued, heads of state facing an opposition-controlled Legislature may not be able to insist on minority-party rule as they would be wary of the possibility of impeachment proceedings being launched against them.
Lawmakers also passed a revision to the act pertaining to the Legislature’s authority to screen nominations of officials that require legislative approval. According to the amendment, those who nominate an individual for a post must provide information on the nominee’s financial assets, as well as tax statements and criminal record, if any. (SB)