The legislature today passed the third reading on amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) after physical clashes erupted in the legislative chamber this morning between ruling and opposition party legislators.
The amendments to the act require signatories of recall petitions to submit a copy of their ID card, while anyone who fraudulently uses another person’s identity to take part in a recall petition shall be sentenced to imprisonment for up to five years and/or a fine of up to NT$1,000,000 (US$30,576).
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) does not even care to put on a show, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said, adding that the KMT lawmakers had taken away the public’s power to recall officials because they are afraid to be recalled.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Wu said the DPP was silenced during the deliberation process and did not have the chance to properly discuss the proposed amendments.
The plenary meeting today handled five articles of the act, Wu said, and 40 DPP lawmakers registered to speak about the articles.
The KMT caucus proposed that the discussion be halted after Wu made a speech, only allowing one DPP lawmaker to speak.
“No discussion, no democracy!” DDP lawmakers chanted as some of them threw water bottles at the speaker’s podium which were blocked by KMT lawmakers with acrylic boards.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who was escorted into the chamber by KMT legislators after physical clashes erupted earlier this morning, conducted a vote by show of hands in accordance with Article 35 of the Legislative Yuan’s procedures (立法院議事規則).
Despite the DPP opposing the vote by various means, the third reading on the amendments of the act was passed as the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party together hold the majority in the legislature.
The Ministry of the Interior expressed deep regret today that the legislature passed the third reading on amendments to the act that would raise the threshold for recall petitions without obtaining full public consensus.
Requiring petitioners to submit their ID card copies could risk leaking personal information, causing potential harm to people’s privacy and properties, the ministry said in a press release.
The amendments could discourage people from taking part in recall petitions and restrict voters’ right to recall officials, it said.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
INTERCEPTION: The 30km test ceiling shows that the CSIST is capable of producing missiles that could stop inbound missiles as they re-enter the atmosphere Recent missile tests by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) show that Taiwan’s missiles are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles as they re-enter the atmosphere and pose a significant deterrent to Chinese missile threats, former Hsiung Feng III missile development project chief engineer Chang Cheng (張誠) said yesterday. The military-affiliated institute has been conducting missile tests, believed to be related to Project Chiang Kung (強弓) at Pingtung County’s Jiupeng Military Base, with many tests deviating from past practices of setting restriction zones at “unlimited” and instead clearly stating a 30.48km range, Chang said. “Unlimited” restrictions zones for missile tests is
PUBLIC SAFETY: The nationwide distribution campaign aims to enhance society’s overall understanding of threats and bolster defense awareness, an official said The latest edition of the National Public Safety Guide is being mailed to all citizens starting today to foster public awareness of self-defense in the event of war or natural disasters, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. “The guides will be disseminated to the public to enhance society’s overall understanding of threats and bolster defense awareness, demonstrating the government’s emphasis on people’s safety and its determination to pursue self-defense,” All-out Defense Mobilization Agency Director Shen Wei-chih (沈威志) said at the ministry’s news conference. The nationwide distribution campaign was planned according to President Lai William’s (賴清德) Sept. 20 directive, he said, adding
RSS