Presidential impeachment hearings begin as parties clash over constitutionality

Taipei, Jan. 14 (CNA) Taiwan's Legislative Yuan opened public hearings on Wednesday to discuss impeaching President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), with sharp exchanges between ruling and opposition lawmakers as well as invited legal experts.

The first public hearing was held on Wednesday, with a second hearing scheduled for Thursday as part of the legislature's impeachment review process.

The Committee of the Whole Yuan will hold formal review meetings on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22, during which the lead sponsors will explain the grounds for impeachment and President Lai will be invited to give a 15-minute statement followed by questioning by lawmakers.

A second review meeting is scheduled for May, after which the impeachment case will be put to a vote on May 19.

Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱), caucus whip of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said the impeachment case is "without legal basis" and is aimed at forcing the president to submit to "unconstitutional questioning" at the legislature.

Chung said the opposition is attempting to impeach Lai after the Constitutional Court ruled that provisions of the Law Governing the Legislative Yuan's Power requiring the president to deliver a state report and face real-time questioning were unconstitutional.

He urged opposition lawmakers to "return to legislators' core duties" and focus on reviewing the central government general budget for 2026 and the national defense special act.

Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) said that because the premier is appointed by the president, Lai is the "true initiator" of serious misconduct that "damages the separation of powers" and therefore should be impeached.

Hsu was referring to the fact that Cho refused to countersign a fiscal planning bill in December, arguing that doing so would force the central government to illegally borrow beyond the 15 percent borrowing cap.

KMT lawmaker Lin Te-fu (林德福) said it was "utterly absurd" for Lai to describe the impeachment effort as a waste of time, adding that the president had "violated the constitution and trampled on the law," and that filing impeachment cases was appropriate.

Taiwan People's Party (TPP) lawmaker Liu Shu-bin (劉書彬) said the impeachment cases are "not for party victory or defeat" but are meant "to let constitutional responsibility be recorded in history."

Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) urged opposition lawmakers to "keep in mind national development and public welfare" and quickly pass the national budget and defense-related legislation.

The Committee of the Whole Yuan also convened a separate hearing featuring invited scholars and legal experts who engaged in pointed exchanges over the impeachment cases.

Lin Teng-yao (林騰鷂), a retired law professor at Tunghai University, said Lai had violated the Constitution and "disrupted constitutional governance," and "should be impeached."

Former Control Yuan member Chang Kuei-mei (仉桂美), recommended by the KMT caucus, said opposition parties were exhausting constitutional mechanisms, including impeachment, to realize separation of powers and checks and balances under a minority government and minority legislature.

Lawyer Huang Ti-ying (黃帝穎), recommended by the DPP caucus, said impeachment requires the support of two-thirds of lawmakers and subsequent review by the Constitutional Court and the Council of Grand Justices.

Under the current legislative seat distribution, Huang said, the opposition "clearly does not meet the threshold."