On Monday last week, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹) and her key staff were indicted for allegedly misusing personal information and forging documents.
The indictment said that the KMT broke the law by forging signatures in their recall petitions. However, the KMT leadership did not admit to the accusations nor issue an apology. Instead, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) appealed to the public for help, and accused the government of judicial persecution and said it was undertaking a witch hunt.
The KMT has been making trouble since winning a legislative majority last year. When the public launched a mass recall movement against its lawmakers to show their anger, the party responded by forging signatures for their own recall petitions.
There are four major reasons for recalling KMT lawmakers.
First, since losing power, the KMT has turned from being pro-US and anti-communist to the opposite, allying with China to control Taiwan. The party has also never condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) threats against Taiwan.
During a visit to China in April last year, a delegation of pan-blue camp lawmakers, led by KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁), met with Wang Huning (王滬寧), a Chinese official in charge of the CCP’s “united front” work targeting Taiwan. When they returned, Fu led opposition lawmakers in passing several bills that attempted to paralyze the government, which have plunged the country into a state of chaos.
Second, for more than a year, opposition lawmakers have frozen the Constitutional Court, expanded the legislature’s power, infringed on the powers of the executive, control and judicial branches, and have amended the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) and the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法). They have also removed or frozen the budgets for national defense, foreign affairs, science and technology, which are seriously affecting Taiwan’s defense and the government’s national policies, and making the whole public suffer.
If KMT lawmakers are not removed, the legislature would not be able to function normally. As a result, national defense, foreign affairs, economic development and people’s livelihoods would be hurt badly, and Taiwan would be exposed to the danger of being annexed by China.
Third, to counter the recalls against them, the KMT forged signatures in their recall petitions, including thousands of signatures of deceased people. Key personnel of KMT party chapters have been detained or prosecuted. Some civil affairs bureau officials in KMT-controlled Keelung City and Nantou County also allegedly misused household and personal information in their recall campaign and are being investigated.
Fourth, after key personnel from the KMT’s Taipei chapter were detained, Chu led KMT lawmakers and elected representatives in staging a protest in front of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, breaking the law. The area near the prosecutors’ office is restricted. He also smeared the government, saying it was carrying out judicial persecution, and accused President William Lai (賴清德) of acting like Adolf Hitler.
That analogy was condemned by the German Institute Taipei.
If KMT lawmakers are not removed, it would be difficult to maintain the judiciary and Taiwan’s international image.
Michael Lin is a retired diplomat, formerly posted in the US.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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