Senior DPP lawmaker calls for mass ousting of KMT lawmakers

Taipei, Jan. 4 (CNA) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) has called for the mass ousting of lawmakers from Taiwan's main opposition party, marking the escalation of partisan antagonism in the Legislature.

"The 41 legislators from the Kuomintang (KMT) must be recalled," Ker said at a news conference, noting that the ruling DPP, with only 51 seats in the 113-seat Legislature, had been unable to stop proposals endorsed by opposition parties.

The DPP lawmaker was referring to 39 KMT lawmakers who were directly elected in January 2024 by voters in their constituencies, as opposed to legislators-at-large, as well as two directly elected independents who are ideologically aligned with the KMT.

The KMT's other 13 legislators-at-large -- elected through a vote for parties -- are not subject to the recall provisions in the Public Officials Election And Recall Act.

According to Ker, lawmakers from the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP) have pushed through bills that were either "against the Constitution" or risked "selling out Taiwan."

He specifically mentioned several opposition-led measures aimed at granting the Legislature broader investigative powers that were mostly later struck down by the Constitutional Court in October 2024.

Ker also objected to recently passed amendments, including those seeking to raise the threshold for Constitutional Court rulings, imposing more requirements for recall petitions, and reallocating central government revenues to local governments.

He did not explain why he did not target the eight TPP lawmakers, without whom the KMT lawmakers would not have obtained majority votes for those pieces of legislation, though all eight are legislators-at-large and not subject to recall provisions.

It is also unclear whether the DPP whip's calls signal the party's plans to get involved in some of the ongoing petitions initiated by individuals aiming to bring down KMT lawmakers in their constituencies.

In addition, the DPP legislative caucus has called on Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and his deputy Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), both of whom are from the KMT, to step down, claiming they were "unfit" for the positions.

The KMT later criticized Ker's comments as "malicious manipulation," and accused the DPP of hypocrisy.

In a press conference after delivering his New Year's Day address, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of the DPP said he had invited Han for coffee to try to ease the partisan wrangling in the Legislature.

But Ker's statement has shown that the DPP has no intention of resolving partisan differences, the KMT said in the statement.