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Activists want speedy passage of credit-card debt bill

Members of the Legal Aid Foundation and other civic organizations protest outside the Legislative Yuan yesterday to back their calls for lawmakers to quickly pass the third reading of the regulations on clearing consumers' debt. PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

Several civic groups announced plans for a demonstration tomorrow to pressure lawmakers into passing a bill designed to help credit card debtors before the legislature goes into recess on July 15.

"With the approach of year-end elections, all lawmakers care about are political and ideological issues and not the bills that are of concern to the people," Sun Yo-lien (孫友聯), director of the Taiwan Labor Front, said yesterday.

Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正), director-general of the Judicial Reform Foundation, told lawmakers that the bill should be high on their list of priorities because "to pass the bill is to give a chance for tens of thousands of credit card debtors to relive their lives." One of the most controversial parts of the bill is an article stipulating that debtors who used their own home as security for a loan would be allowed to pay the interest on their debt without having to pay the principle loan amount for the first 10 years.

The article has been backed by pan-blue lawmakers and Taiwan Solidarity Union lawmakers, while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus opposes it.

"The DPP has been influenced by the banking industry, which wants to be able to get permission from the courts to sell their assets at auction to recoup their money," Sun said.

"But if a credit card debtor loses his or her home, they would have a harder time earning money to repay their debts," he said.

The alliance, composed of 25 civic groups, said that if the legislation fails to pass this session, it would launch a campaign during the year-end polls against those lawmakers who blocked the bill.
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