The legislature appears set to hold a second extra legislative session beginning on July 28th. The two-week session is likely to last through August 8th, and will focus on Control Yuan nominees.
The Control Yuan is one of the five branches of government in Taiwan. It is also the top government watchdog. Opposition parties are unhappy about President Ma Ying-jeou’s list of nominees, saying that the nominees are simply being rewarded with the positions as political favors. Opposition lawmakers also blocked voting on the nominees, ending the first extra legislative session on Friday.
The ruling party – the Kuomintang (KMT) -- said on Saturday that the approval of the nominees will be the first item on the agenda in the second extra session. However, the party said that the agenda will not be finalized until this coming week.
The caucus whip of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) -- Ker Chien-ming – said that the KMT traditionally holds an open vote when approving nominees, with legislators lining up to show who they voted for. He said that the DPP was calling for a blind vote.
The KMT’s Wang Ting-son said that there was no requirement that the party’s lawmakers show who they voted for, only that they toe the party line.