Prosecutor General nominee Xu Xixiang rejected as Blue and White parties disapprove of personnel approval power
Taiwan's Legislative Yuan rejected the presidential nominee Xu Xixiang for Prosecutor General due to disapproval from the Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party. This means a new nominee will have to be put forward for the position.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 5, 2026 at 12:50
- 🔍 Collected: May 5, 2026 at 13:01 (10 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 5, 2026 at 14:25 (1h 24m after Collected)
(Central News Agency reporter Wang Yang-yu, Chen Chun-hua, Taipei, 5th) The Legislative Yuan today held a roll-call vote on the personnel approval power for Prosecutor General nominee Xu Xixiang. With opposition votes from Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) legislators, Xu Xixiang ultimately received 50 votes in favor and 61 against, failing to meet the approval threshold and thus not passing.
The Presidential Office issued a press release on March 13, stating that the incumbent Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors Office, Xing Taizhao, will complete his term on May 7. President Lai Ching-te, in accordance with the Organic Act of the Courts, nominated Chief Prosecutor Xu Xixiang of the Supreme Prosecutors Office as the Prosecutor General and referred the nomination to the Legislative Yuan for approval.
After cross-party negotiation on April 17, the Legislative Yuan's party caucuses decided to hold a roll-call vote on the Prosecutor General's personnel approval power today.
Before the vote, Zhuang Rui-xiong, caucus whip of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislative Yuan caucus, stated in an interview that after a caucus meeting, the DPP caucus decided to conduct a unified vote, with all caucus members voting in favor, and urged the KMT and TPP to allow this personnel approval case to pass smoothly.
The Taiwan People's Party Legislative Yuan caucus also held a press conference in front of the Legislative Yuan chamber. Wang An-xiang, deputy convener of the TPP caucus, stated that the TPP caucus believes Xu Xixiang lacks sufficient core experience, particularly in serving as a chief prosecutor of a second-instance court. Furthermore, Xu Xixiang has served as deputy director of the National Security Bureau and political deputy minister of justice, which are more akin to political official roles. The TPP caucus is concerned about how Xu Xixiang would clearly differentiate between judicial and political matters.
Wang An-xiang said that the position of Prosecutor General is very important, involving the credibility of the nation's judiciary. The TPP caucus viewed this approval case with seriousness, and therefore, after a caucus meeting, decided to vote against the personnel approval case.
The Legislative Yuan currently has 113 legislators. According to the number of seats each party holds in the parliament, the KMT, along with independent legislators Chen Chao-ming and Kao Chin Su-mei who participate in the KMT Legislative Yuan caucus operations, has a total of 54 seats. The DPP has 51 seats, and the Taiwan People's Party has 8 seats.
Cross-party legislators began voting at 10:06 AM and closed voting at 11:05 AM, with the voting and counting process proceeding smoothly. Regarding the vote count, Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu, who presided over the meeting, announced that a total of 112 legislators received ballots today, with Xu Xixiang receiving 50 votes in favor, 61 votes against, and 1 invalid vote.
It is understood that DPP legislator Wu Chi-ming did not receive a ballot, and KMT legislator Wang Hung-wei cast an invalid vote.
According to Article 29, Paragraph 2 of the Law Governing the Exercise of Legislative Yuan's Powers, when the Legislative Yuan exercises personnel approval power other than those specified in Article 29, Paragraph 1, without debate, the case shall be referred to the relevant committee for review. After review, it shall be submitted to the plenary session for a roll-call vote, and approval requires more than half of all legislators' consent. Currently, the total number of legislators is 113, so obtaining 57 votes in favor would constitute approval. In other words, the personnel approval case for Prosecutor General did not pass this time. (Editor: Su Lung-chi) 1150505
The Presidential Office issued a press release on March 13, stating that the incumbent Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors Office, Xing Taizhao, will complete his term on May 7. President Lai Ching-te, in accordance with the Organic Act of the Courts, nominated Chief Prosecutor Xu Xixiang of the Supreme Prosecutors Office as the Prosecutor General and referred the nomination to the Legislative Yuan for approval.
After cross-party negotiation on April 17, the Legislative Yuan's party caucuses decided to hold a roll-call vote on the Prosecutor General's personnel approval power today.
Before the vote, Zhuang Rui-xiong, caucus whip of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislative Yuan caucus, stated in an interview that after a caucus meeting, the DPP caucus decided to conduct a unified vote, with all caucus members voting in favor, and urged the KMT and TPP to allow this personnel approval case to pass smoothly.
The Taiwan People's Party Legislative Yuan caucus also held a press conference in front of the Legislative Yuan chamber. Wang An-xiang, deputy convener of the TPP caucus, stated that the TPP caucus believes Xu Xixiang lacks sufficient core experience, particularly in serving as a chief prosecutor of a second-instance court. Furthermore, Xu Xixiang has served as deputy director of the National Security Bureau and political deputy minister of justice, which are more akin to political official roles. The TPP caucus is concerned about how Xu Xixiang would clearly differentiate between judicial and political matters.
Wang An-xiang said that the position of Prosecutor General is very important, involving the credibility of the nation's judiciary. The TPP caucus viewed this approval case with seriousness, and therefore, after a caucus meeting, decided to vote against the personnel approval case.
The Legislative Yuan currently has 113 legislators. According to the number of seats each party holds in the parliament, the KMT, along with independent legislators Chen Chao-ming and Kao Chin Su-mei who participate in the KMT Legislative Yuan caucus operations, has a total of 54 seats. The DPP has 51 seats, and the Taiwan People's Party has 8 seats.
Cross-party legislators began voting at 10:06 AM and closed voting at 11:05 AM, with the voting and counting process proceeding smoothly. Regarding the vote count, Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu, who presided over the meeting, announced that a total of 112 legislators received ballots today, with Xu Xixiang receiving 50 votes in favor, 61 votes against, and 1 invalid vote.
It is understood that DPP legislator Wu Chi-ming did not receive a ballot, and KMT legislator Wang Hung-wei cast an invalid vote.
According to Article 29, Paragraph 2 of the Law Governing the Exercise of Legislative Yuan's Powers, when the Legislative Yuan exercises personnel approval power other than those specified in Article 29, Paragraph 1, without debate, the case shall be referred to the relevant committee for review. After review, it shall be submitted to the plenary session for a roll-call vote, and approval requires more than half of all legislators' consent. Currently, the total number of legislators is 113, so obtaining 57 votes in favor would constitute approval. In other words, the personnel approval case for Prosecutor General did not pass this time. (Editor: Su Lung-chi) 1150505