Amid continuing controversy over the “September political strife,” a number of legal experts yesterday issued a joint statement accusing President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of using his status as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) chairman to bypass the constitutional boundaries of presidential authority.

The statement, titled President Ma overstepping the constitutional red line: A group of legal academics’ collective opinions on the president’s interference in the self-disciplined legislature, was endorsed by a 36 legal specialists, including National Taiwan University law professors Yen Chueh-an (顏厥安) and Chang Wen-chen (張文貞).