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Taiwan crisis deepens

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: The Legislative Yuan (Parliament) in the non-sovereign territory of Taiwan on Tuesday asked President Chen Shui-bian to respond to a draft resolution aimed at "recalling" him through an unprecedented public referendum on charges of incompetence and lack of integrity. The issues relate to accusations of corrupt practices by his wife and of insider trading by his son-in-law. The President's Office has denied the charges.

Mr. Chen was asked to defend himself, after Parliament in Taipei approved an Opposition move to consider ordering a referendum to oust him. The preliminary motion to hold a debate was adopted by 113 votes to 96 in a house of 221. The Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and its ally lack the mandatory two-third majority to order the referendum. However, a parliamentary vote on the substantive issue can be held on June 27, as now planned, even if the President were to decline to answer the charges against him. With this, the political crisis in Taiwan deepened.

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