Taiwan sets date for vote on bill to oust Chen

Taipei, Nov 10: Taiwan legislators set a date today to vote again on a parliamentary bill aimed at ousting scandal-mired President Chen Shui-bian by turning his fate over to a referendum.

But it has little chance of getting the two-thirds support needed, unless a group from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party or its ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union Party, breaks ranks.

The DPP has said it will punish any legislators who vote for the ouster bill.

Opposition members of parliament say the current ''recall'' motion -- the third of its kind since June -- should have extra momentum because of the November three indictment against first lady Wu Shu-chen and three others close to the president.

The vote on the bill is set for November 24.

Wu is accused of embezzlement and receipt forgery involving T14.8 million dollars. The prosecutor said he could also charge Chen himself if he were not in office.

Chen has denied any wrongdoing.

''The chances of (the bill) passing are low,'' said opposition Nationalist Party legislator Tsai Cheng-yuan. ''If it doesn't pass, yes, we'll keep up the pressure.'' Similar motions failed in June and October for lack of a two-thirds vote in parliament. All three have called for a referendum on whether Chen should leave office before his second term expires in May 2008.

The latest motion was submitted by opposition parties the Nationalist Party and the People First Party.

The move comes as Lee Yuan-tseh, a Nobel laureate and former president of think-tank Academia Sinica, issued an open letter urging Chen to step down.

Lee had been a prominent supporter of Chen during the presidential elections in 2000 and 2004, both of which Chen won.

REUTERS