Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday disrupted a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee to review the Transitional Justice Commission’s annual plan and budget.
At about 9am, KMT lawmakers prevented Transitional Justice Commission Acting Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠), whose appointment by the Executive Yuan they were protesting, from delivering a report to the committee.
They held up signs calling the appointment of Yang illegal, referring to the commission as Dong Chang (東廠), a Ming Dynasty secret police and spy agency, and demanding that all of the commission’s members be replaced.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
KMT lawmakers pushed over a desk and looked as if they were going to hit someone during the meeting, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) urged the legislators to calm down, as it was International Human Rights Day and the 39th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident.
However, he was interrupted by KMT lawmakers, who proposed that the meeting be adjourned.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
DPP Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米), who cochairs the committee, adjourned the meeting approximately 13 minutes after it begun.
At a post-meeting news conference held by the DPP, Chou expressed regret about the KMT’s decision to put up “unreasonable resistance” on Human Rights Day.
According to the regulations and convention, when the commission chair is vacant, the Executive Yuan has the right to appoint an acting chair, Chou said.
Therefore, the committee’s invitation to Yang to represent the commission at the meeting was in line with regulations, she said.
The truth still needs to be investigated and the commission’s budget still needs to be reviewed, she said.
As cochair, she would continue to communicate with committee members on moving forward with a budget review, she said.
Meanwhile, the Taipei High Administrative Court yesterday rejected a KMT request for a temporary injunction to prevent the appointment of Yang.
Article 8, Item 1 of the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例) says that the Legislative Yuan must approve the premier’s nomination of the commission’s nine members, the KMT said.
Article 8, Item 6 of the act states that if for some reason a position becomes vacant, it should be filled according to the procedure stated in the first item, the party said.
However, the act does not specify how an acting chair or deputy chair should be appointed, the KMT said, adding that the organizational acts of other independent agencies specify how the procedure should occur.
Former commission deputy chairman Chang Tien-chin (張天欽) resigned in September after an audio recording emerged of a meeting in which he allegedly discussed a plan to target then-KMT New Taipei City mayoral candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜).
Former commission chairman Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) resigned in October.
Additional reporting by Chang Wen-chuan
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