A deadlock could continue in the legislature today after lawmakers failed to reach a consensus on a proposed amendment to the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) yesterday.
When approached for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should stop boycotting the amendment because it would remove the power of law enforcement to approve or reject plans for a demonstration.
“[We] have sought to relax [the proposal] by allowing [organizers] to report a planned rally four days ahead of the activity instead of six days as previously stated in the proposal,” Yang said.
PHOTO: CNA
“But they [DPP] want to make it two days. We still need to negotiate this,” she said.
The DPP said it would use every means possible to block the amendment at the plenary session today as the KMT caucus would not rule out calling a vote on all six versions of the amendment.
The Cabinet’s version — which is likely to pass — would give the police the right to prevent a rally or change its route if it posed a risk to national security, social order or the public interest.
It would also give police the right to break up any rally that blocked traffic.
DPP caucus whip Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) described the Cabinet’s proposal as “an Assembly and Parade Act of the Martial Law era.”
“They [law enforcement] would be able to alter your rally plan any way they want. They would only have to inform you of the change within 36 hours of the rally,” Lee said.
Lee said the KMT could be trying to interfere in a DPP protest scheduled for May 17 by pushing through the Cabinet’s amendment before then.
“The DPP will fight to the death if the KMT tries to push [the bill] through,” Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), another DPP caucus whip, said yesterday.
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