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SPEAKER CALLS FOR NEGOTIATIONS TO AVOID SHOWDOWN ON ARMS BILL

ROC Central News Agency

2005-12-23 13:54:16

    Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng called Friday for negotiations between the "pan-green camp" led by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the "pan-blue alliance" led by the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in order to avoid a showdown vote over the arms procurement bill.

    The bill was finally placed on the legislative agenda two days ago when the "pan-green camp" pushed it through the Procedure Committee. It was able to do so because fewer "pan-blue" members were in attendance. Prior to Tuesday, the bill had been blocked by "pan-blue" lawmakers 41 times over the past year.

    Both camps have now mobilized their legislators, with the "pan-blue" lawmakers criticizing Tuesday's "surprise attack" and threatening to send the bill back to the Procedure Committee for further screening, in effect killing it. The "pan-green" legislators are mobilizing to try to push the bill through to the first reading at Friday's plenary session.

    The two camps exchanged harsh rhetoric during a national affairs forum Friday, with "pan-green camp" lawmakers saying that the opposition is threatening Taiwan's national security by trying to block the bill, and "pan-blue" lawmakers insisting that they would oppose the current "cash-for-friendship" arms package to the end and would only accept a "reasonable" bill.

    Legislative speaker Wang, a KMT stalwart, said he keenly hopes that legislators from the two rival camps can negotiate with each other and arrive at a consensus at Friday's session in order to prevent a showdown vote on the arms procurement bill.

    The Ministry of National Defense submitted the bill for the purchase of six Patriot III anti-missile batteries, eight conventional submarines and 12 P-3C Orion submarine-hunting aircraft from the United States to the Legislative Yuan last year. The initial price tag was NT$610.8 billion, but the ministry later reduced it to NT$480 billion after the opposition lawmakers rejected the bill.

    Meanwhile, KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou breakfasted with members of the legislative caucus of the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU) Friday morning in an apparent attempt to seek the support of the independent legislators in the "pan-blue alliance's" bid to block the bill yet again.

    Tseng Yung-chuan, head of the KMT Central Policy Committee, said after the breakfast that independent lawmakers will be on the side of their "pan-blue alliance" colleagues to oppose to the bill.

    Nevertheless, Lin Ping-kun, the NPSU legislative party whip, was more reserved, saying that "we have our own opinions and judgment" on various bills.

(By Deborah Kuo)

ENDITEM/Li