Two legislative committee meetings were paralyzed yesterday by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators who locked the doors to committee conference rooms to block three bills that would allow local schools to recruit students from China and recognize Chinese credentials.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, staff at the legislature’s Conference Department and officials from the Ministry of Education (MOE) were unable to enter the room to the Education and Culture Committee at about 1:30pm.
Police officers stationed at the legislature attempted to open the door with a key and to push the door open, but their efforts were unsuccessful as DPP legislators had blocked the door from inside with tables and chairs.
DPP caucus whip Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) told reporters by telephone that the DPP caucus was blocking the committee review to avoid physical conflict with KMT lawmakers.
“The bills would have a major impact on students and the nation as a whole, but the government has yet to propose any thorough plan on the matter. We had no choice but to resort to such a self-defense strategy,” Lee said. “Stopping them [KMT] from holding the meetings is the best approach ... the KMT scheduled the review without even negotiating with [the DPP] because the KMT holds the majority of seats in the legislature.”
KMT caucus secretary-general Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) called the DPP’s approach “ridiculous,” adding that such a boycott undermined the dignity of the legislature.
Yang said KMT Legislator Huang Chih-hsiung (黃志雄), an Olympic taekwondo medalist, should knock down the door. The KMT retaliated by having its legislators guard the back door to the Education and Culture Committee conference room to block DPP legislators from going to the restroom.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) condemned the DPP for locking the doors, describing the strategy as “illegal” and “inappropriate.”
“At the very least their move constitutes interference with public functions, seriously impeding the legislative sessions and setting a very bad example,” Wang said.
The face-off lasted approximately four-and-a-half hours, with DPP lawmakers concluding their boycott at 5:56pm after the committee sessions ended.
The DPP’s move came as the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee and the Education and Culture Committee were scheduled to review proposed amendments to the University Act (大學法), the Junior College Act (專科學校法) and the Act Governing the Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例).
DPP legislators have accused the KMT of seeking to divide the DPP, which only holds 27 seats, by scheduling the reviews in different committee meetings on the same day.
Earlier yesterday, DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) accused the MOE of trying to create a “one-China market in education” by pushing through the bills. Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城), however, said the impact on Taiwanese students of allowing Chinese students to enroll in Taiwanese schools would be more positive than negative.
Cheng said passage of the bills would also guarantee the public’s right to choose where to attend school. If the bill were passed, graduate students from China would be able to attend school in Taiwan starting in February next year, while undergraduate students would follow suit in the fall next year, Cheng said.
RSS