Vice President Hsiao Urges Legislature to Fulfill Constitutional Duty, Objectively Review Control Yuan Nominees

(Central News Agency, reporters Yeh Su-ping and Kao Hua-chien, Taipei, June 11) The Presidential Office today announced the nominees for the 7th term of the Control Yuan's President, Vice President, and Control Yuan members. Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, who serves as the convener of the nomination review committee, stated that the Presidential Office will send the nomination document to the Legislative Yuan and hopes all nominees will receive the Legislative Yuan's consent. She earnestly requested the Legislative Yuan to fulfill its constitutional duty of loyalty and review all nominees from an objective perspective to maintain the normal operation of the Control Yuan, a constitutional body.

Vice President Hsiao presided over a press conference at the Presidential Office this morning to introduce the nominees for the 7th Control Yuan. She announced that President Lai Ching-te will nominate former Taiwan Association for Human Rights President Chen Yung-hsing as President of the Control Yuan, current Control Yuan member Wang Jung-chang as Vice President, and 27 others, including Pingtung Urban-Rural Development Cultural and Educational Foundation Chairperson Liao Wan-ju, as Control Yuan members, aiming to create a Control Yuan for the people.

In response to media questions about why President Lai chose to nominate all 29 Control Yuan members despite the Democratic Progressive Party's long-standing advocacy for abolishing the Control Yuan and related proposals from both the ruling and opposition parties, with the opposition criticizing it as political patronage, Vice President Hsiao stated that the Control Yuan is an important constitutional body within the current constitutional system, endowed with statutory powers. She said the President's nomination is based on Article 7 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution. The Control Yuan is the nation's highest oversight body, exercising the powers of impeachment and censure conferred by the Constitution, while also shouldering the important tasks of the National Human Rights Commission.

She stated that until the Constitution is amended or the Control Yuan is abolished, both the President and the Legislative Yuan should adhere to their constitutional duty of loyalty, as per Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 632. The President nominates Control Yuan members based on constitutional obligation, and she simultaneously expects the Legislative Yuan to exercise its power of consent according to its constitutional responsibilities.

Regarding concerns that the same situation might recur, as previous nominations for Grand Justices and others were rejected by the opposition Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party in the Legislative Yuan, and whether the current nomination considered the legislative landscape and sought cooperation with the opposition, Vice President Hsiao explained that the review committee had formally requested recommendations from all political parties during the candidate selection process. She noted that the committee also solicited recommendations from various professional groups, including lawyers, doctors, and accountants, as well as private social welfare organizations, and some nominees were self-recommended.

The Vice President further explained that while the review committee followed precedent in asking all political parties to recommend candidates, no formal recommendations were received from opposition parties this time. She emphasized that, according to constitutional principles, Control Yuan members should be above party affiliation and should not be allocated by political parties, which is also explicitly stipulated in the Constitution.

She stated that since Control Yuan members exercise their powers independently, there was no specific concept of conducting nominations or allocations through inter-party negotiations. Initially, all political parties were welcome to make recommendations. Furthermore, the review committee comprises respected and highly virtuous individuals from various sectors of society who jointly participate in the review work.

Vice President Hsiao emphasized that President Lai's primary consideration in nominations is meritocracy, a principle upheld in previous nominations, including those for the Judicial Yuan. She expressed hope that the Legislative Yuan would adopt the same objective and rational perspective to maintain the normal operation of the Control Yuan.

When asked by the media whether she was confident about the nomination list and how many nominees might be approved, Vice President Hsiao stated that the goal is to secure support for all 29 nominees, including the President and Vice President. She noted that the backgrounds of this year's nominees are highly diverse, reflecting the diversity of society. She expressed confidence that the future Control Yuan will be a highly professional institution capable of fully exercising its constitutional oversight powers.

Vice President Hsiao reiterated her earnest request for the Legislative Yuan to fulfill its constitutional duty of loyalty and review all nominees from an objective perspective. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an will also accompany the Control Yuan nominees to the Legislative Yuan to exchange views and seek support from legislators. (Editor: Wan Shu-chang) 1150611