The legislature, dominated by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), on Tuesday passed controversial legislative reform bills that have been criticized as unconstitutional, while tens of thousands of citizens surrounding the legislature called for more transparency.
The controversial bills, which include amendments to the Criminal Code (刑法) and the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Powers (立法院職權行使法), massively expand the legislature’s powers in the name of “reform,” and have been criticized for violating the Constitution and infringing on human rights.
More than 100 legal experts on Monday issued a joint statement criticizing the expansion of the legislature’s powers, such as requesting confidential information from the military and imposing fines on government officials, private organizations and members of the public for failing to cooperate in legislative hearings.
The statement said the bills are unconstitutional and trample on the powers of the Control Yuan and the Judicial Yuan.
In most democratic states, the conviction and punishment of “contempt of legislature” are judged by a court, a professional and impartial third party, but due to the amendments, legislators can unilaterally decide an offense has occurred and the penalty.
Protesters called on lawmakers to return the bills to committee for deliberation.
The KMT and the TPP are also very likely to next push through legislation on three infrastructure projects in eastern Taiwan proposed by KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) that favor his electoral district.
These projects, including extending highways and high-speed rail systems through Hualien and Taitung counties, have been criticized as “money-pit” bills that could cost an estimated NT$2 trillion (US$61.92 billion) and disregard environmental assessments and the Budget Act (預算法).
The bills passed by the opposition-controlled legislature would not only diminish the power of the new president and undermine democracy, but could also be a proxy war manipulated by China.
Chinese dissident Yuan Hongbing (袁紅冰) in February warned that China had formulated a “united front” strategy whereby KMT legislators would introduce bills that would cause chaos in the legislature and reduce the effectiveness of the administration of President William Lai (賴清德).
An article published in the Diplomat on Sunday by academics at the International Republican Institute said that China could be the winner as lawmakers rush to pass the new laws, since “several provisions in the proposed legislative package might open the door for PRC [People’s Republic of China] influence or capture of public institutions, putting at risk the institutions and civic freedom that distinguish Taiwan” from its authoritarian neighbor.
Fu, after a trip to China, requested that legislative proposals should replace the term “China” with “mainland” and remove “our country” and replace it with “ Taiwan.”
His move has been criticized as downgrading the Republic of China in Taiwan as a subordinate to China, but gained applause from Chinese authorities.
Amid the debate over the bills, a My-Formosa.com poll released on Monday showed that satisfaction with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rose to 46.1 percent, surpassing that of the KMT and the TPP which dropped below 33 percent. Dissatisfaction with the KMT was 57.3 percent, while dissatisfaction with the TPP surged to a record 53.7 percent.
The Executive Yuan has announced it would return the bills to the legislature for reconsideration and the DPP caucus is to seek a constitutional interpretation. More importantly, Taiwanese should make the right choices in the next election to safeguard democracy with checks and balances.
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