Taiwan parliament rejects bill to oust president

TAIPEI, Oct 13: Taiwan legislators rejected a bill today that would have offered voters a chance to oust President Chen Shui-bian, who is accused by critics of corruption.

The motion drew 116 votes in favour, 31 short of the two-thirds majority required, after three days of debate culminating in shouting matches between lawmakers for and against the president's ouster.

''The people of Taiwan have the wisdom and ability,'' opposition lawmaker Jhao Liang-yen said during the debate. ''Let them decide. Give the power to them.'' The bill, introduced by People First Party member Lu Hsue-chang on September 26, says Chen lacks the ability to govern, accuses him of corruption and calls his staff incompetent.

Its passage, which was never expected, would have prompted an island-wide referendum on whether to make Chen step down before his second four-year term ends in 2008.

Although this was the second time such a bill had failed -- the first was in June -- backers of the failed legislation say they may introduce a third. Alternatively, they may sue the president or push for a vote of no-confidence in his cabinet.

Chen, elected in 2000 and 2004, is being investigated for his under-documented use of the 2005 confidential state affairs budget, while his son-in-law is in court on insider trading charges and a former deputy chief of staff faces corruption charges.

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

Lawmakers from Chen's ruling Democratic Progressive Party boycotted the vote, which went ahead as police cordoned off parliament to avoid any interruption from demonstrators.

''We had decided early on not to attend, because we don't support the motion,'' said party spokesman Tsai Huang-lang. ''The result is what we expected.'' The ouster motion came after hundreds of thousands of people, led by former ruling party chairman Shih Ming-teh, launched street protests against the president last month.

A group numbering from 500 to more than 300,000 people has staged daily demonstrations around Taiwan since September nine to call for the president's exit.

However, their permit to occupy a plaza at Taipei Railway Station expires on October 18, after which the protesters will rest and decide what to do next.

Local press reports said that because of National Day traffic disruptions caused by a protest march this week, police would not let the group demonstrate outside the presidential offices again until at least October 27.

REUTERS