Taiwan's parliament votes next week on filling the long-vacant Control Yuan, and the ruling DPP expects every nominee to be rejected — a fight that leaves one of the island's constitutional branches sitting empty.

• The legislature votes Sept 29 on the Control Yuan nominees, and the mood points to a clean sweep of rejections.
• The DPP argues the opposition is killing the body through budget cuts instead of the proper route.
• Scrapping a constitutional branch requires amending the constitution and a public referendum, not just a legislative vote.
• The DPP says it has filed its own amendment to abolish the Control Yuan, but wants it running until that happens.
• A side fight has broken out over the Control Yuan's budget for replacing aging official cars, which opposition lawmakers call a waste while no watchdogs are seated.

Outlook: Expect the nominees to fail and the Control Yuan to stay in limbo, with the real battle shifting to the budget and to constitutional amendment talks.