Taiwan lawmakers to vote on Chen ouster bill

TAIPEI, Oct 13 (Reuters) Taiwan legislators are expected today to reject a bill that would let voters decide whether to oust President Chen Shui-bian, who some political opponents have accused of being corrupt.

Lacking support from ruling Democratic Progressive Party legislators, the bill is unlikely to get the two-thirds majority required for passage.

''This is their own party's president, so they don't dare come and vote,'' said Yang Cheng Chin-ling, an opposition legislator in favour of the bill.

The bill, submitted on Sept. 26 by People First Party legislator Lu Hsue-chang, says Chen lacks the ability to govern, accuses him of corruption and calls his staff incompetent. Sixty lawmakers have expressed support for the bill.

Passage of the bill would lead to an island-wide referendum on whether to make Chen step down before his second four-year term ends in 2008.

Chen, rejecting the allegations against him, has accused the opposition of engaging in an ''evil struggle'', using corruption allegations to wrest power from the ruling party. He said the Taiwan people should trust a legal investigation to root out any corruption.

Lu wrote the ouster motion, the second this year, after hundreds of thousands of people led by former ruling party chairman Shih Ming-teh launched street protests against the president last month.

REUTERS DH PM0740