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DPP blocks Chinese student bill

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) once again brought to a standstill a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee that would have reviewed bills to allow Chinese students to attend schools in Taiwan

DPP legislators stalled the meeting by questioning the appropriateness of the decision by committee head Cheng Chin-ling (鄭金玲) to convene the meeting. They said there was a conflict of interest.

“Legislator Cheng’s father-in-law was founder of the Chien ­Hsing Industrial College, which is now called Ching Yun University [CYU],” DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said. “[The government’s plan] to recruit students from China in some sense is aimed at saving the nation’s private universities. Therefore, this meeting is illegitimate and should be immediately adjourned.”

In her defense, Cheng said her father-in-law passed away three years ago and that she had never been involved in the operations of CYU.

However, DPP legislators continued to occupy the podium and prevented Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) from taking questions from lawmakers.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Yang ­Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and DPP legislators then engaged in a shouting match, with Yang blaming the DPP for paralyzing the meeting, while DPP Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) ignored Yang’s criticism by covering her ears.

Cheng Chin-ling adjourned the meeting at about noon after the DPP had paralyzed it for the entire morning.

Yesterday’s meeting was the committee’s fifth attempt to complete the preliminary review of proposed amendments to the University Act (大學法) and the Junior College Act (專科學校法) — two bills proposed by the Ministry of Education to allow Chinese students to enroll in Taiwanese universities.

The DPP has used numerous strategies to stall the review, including locking themselves in the committee’s conference room on May 4 and preventing KMT lawmakers from entering the room.

DPP Legislator William Lai (賴清德) lashed out at President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for urging the legislature to pass the proposed amendments as soon as possible.

“Ma Ying-jeou, as the president, tried to give the legislature instructions on when to pass bills. He did not respect the legislature and treated it as a bureau of the Presidential Office,” Lai said.

“With the KMT’s majority in the legislature, Ma acts like an emperor,” he said.

DPP Legislator Twu Shiing-jer (?? said the Ministry of Education should hold a referendum to allow the public to decide whether Chinese students are welcome to attend local schools.

In response, the KMT caucus threatened to propose allowing the bills to skip a preliminary review if the DPP continues to block it.

Yang urged the DPP to deliberate the bills rationally, adding that the KMT caucus supported a “liberal education market.”

Approached for comment after the meeting was dismissed, the education minister said he hoped lawmakers could discuss the bills rationally.

“We have complied with every request made by DPP legislators,” Cheng Jei-cheng said.
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