Legislature agrees on proposal for Lai's state of the nation address

Taipei, May 10 (CNA) The ruling and opposition parties on Friday agreed on a proposal to invite President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to the Legislative Yuan to deliver a state of the nation address following his inauguration on May 20.

The invitation is consistent with the Constitution in that the president should deliver a state of the nation address to the Legislative Yuan, Kuomintang (KMT) legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) said.

Fu was referring to Article 4-3 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, which stipulates that "when the Legislative Yuan convenes each year, it may hear a report on the state of the nation by the president."

The call for the address was proposed by the KMT during a meeting of the Legislature's Procedure Committee on Tuesday, with KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) calling on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to support the proposal.

The ruling and opposition parties reached a consensus to jointly create a new page of constitutionalism, said DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), noting that Lai would be giving the first state of the nation address at the Legislative Yuan in history.

Lawmakers have talked about inviting the president to deliver a national address at the Legislature for the past 30 years, but it has never happened, he said.

Cross-caucus negotiations will be held on May 13 to discuss when and how the address would take place, and if the event should include a collective question-and-answer session by lawmakers.

Fu said Lai had previously expressed a willingness to make such an appearance, and that the KMT will respect whatever format he chooses for his address.