What next for Taiwan as William Lai refuses to attend impeachment hearings?
Lawmakers from ruling DPP have dismissed process as political theatre designed to generate publicity ahead of election season
The no-show has further deepened partisan strife and is likely to complicate governance ahead of year-end local government elections, observers warn, although most agree that the impeachment motion is unlikely to clear Taiwan’s high constitutional threshold.
It came after the cabinet declined to countersign amendments to a revised fiscal allocation law passed by the legislature, where the opposition holds a slim majority. The revised law aims to increase the share of central funds allocated to local governments, thereby reducing central government funds.
Under Taiwan’s constitutional system, an impeachment motion against the island’s leader must be proposed by more than half of the 113-seat parliament, or a minimum of 57 lawmakers. It must then be approved by at least a two-thirds majority – or 76 votes – before being sent to the Constitutional Court for adjudication.