Partisan feuding disrupted the legislative process yesterday, as the ruling camp blocked a dozen opposition bills from proceeding to committee review and the opposition alliance retaliated by returning all Cabinet initiatives to the Pro-cedures Committee.
The two camps blamed each other for the delay.
The Legislative Yuan, at the request of the DPP and its tiny ally, the TSU, set aside bills introduced by lawmakers from the KMT and PFP .
"We can not turn a blind eye to poor legislation," TSU Legislator Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) said. "If passed, those bills [the opposition] has churned out may cause irreparable harm to the country and its people."
One PFP proposal would require the government to allow elderly Chinese relatives of Taiwan nationals to apply for permanent residency here, Chen said.
"The legislation would put an extra burden on the state coffers when the country is suffering from financial woes," the TSU lawmaker said.
"The proposed age group -- 70 and up -- cannot contribute to the economy and will have difficulty adjusting to the lifestyle here."
Another PFP bill aims to give the legislature the power to impeach retired presidents and vice presidents.
Chen said the proposed legislation is obviously aimed at ex-president Lee Teng-hui (
"It is not right to target any individual when making law," Chen said.
In retaliation, the opposition alliance insisted that all 36 Cabinet-drafted bills be returned to the Procedures Committee.
PFP legislative leader Diane Lee (李慶安) said her caucus could not help but take such a drastic measure so as to underscore the capriciousness of the TSU's actions.
Lee said she has repeatedly asked TSU colleagues not to boycott bills already approved by the Procedures Committee but the party has refused to heed her call.
"If the ruling bloc finds any legislation insalubrious, its mem-bers can always make known their opinions during committee meetings rather than boycott legislative review altogether," Lee said.
The 36-member Procedures Committee called a meeting for noon today and has placed the same items for discussion next week.
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