Scuffles broke out on the legislative floor again yesterday over the two controversial bills that aimed to bring Chinese students to Taiwan and to recognize Chinese credentials.
Lawmakers brawled at the Education and Culture Committee as legislative staffers of the committee were trying to read through the minutes of last Wednesday’s session and have legislators confirm that the committee session last week had completed the preliminary review of the two proposals.
Staging a filibuster, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators occupied the convener’s podium and besieged the legislative staffers amid pushing by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
At another side of the conference room, DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) chased KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), shouting “the KMT should be ashamed” as Lu was leaving for the conference room’s lounge.
Lu at first told Chiu to mind her manners as a woman, but later pushed Chiu to the ground while Chiu kept yelling “shame on [President] Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)” and “shame on the KMT administration.”
DPP Legislator William Lai (賴清德), who was at the scene, urged Lu to apologize for “hitting a woman,” but Lu refused, arguing that Chiu was accusing him of being shameless.
Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Chao Li-yun (趙麗雲), one of the conveners of the committee, burst into tears, saying that “we are paid to do something instead of being paid to fight.”
Yesterday’s session was the committee’s first meeting after the KMT and the DPP brawled on Wednesday last week when the committee was scheduled to review proposed amendments to the University Act (大學法) and the Vocational School Act (專科學校法) that would allow Taiwanese schools to recruit Chinese students and give recognition to Chinese credentials.
Minister of Education Wu Ching-chi (吳清基) gave a short briefing to the committee during the conflict last week, while Chao later announced that the two bills would be referred to cross-party negotiations — a necessary procedure before the bills can be put to the second reading.
The DPP questioned whether the committee had completed the necessary preliminary review process, while the KMT insisted that the bills had passed committee review. KMT Legislator Chiang Yi-hsiung (江義雄), the other head of the committee, called for a break as yesterday’s conflict escalated. He resumed the meeting shortly afterwards and announced that the minutes had been confirmed — a move meaning that the committee confirmed the referral.
DPP caucus whip Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) protested at the result, saying the meeting should be considered invalid as Chiang, who should have presided over yesterday’s session, was not present when legislative staffers read through the minutes.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) dismissed the DPP’s criticism, saying that the committee had followed due procedure.
“DPP legislators, why don’t you just quit and go home? Aren’t you ashamed of being on the government’s payroll [while getting into fights on the legislative floor]?” he asked.
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