The Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) powers are being normalized and its head has been granted extraordinary powers without a legal basis, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affiliated National Policy Foundation said yesterday, adding that the center’s authority should be temporary.
Former legislator Arthur Chen (陳宜民), a member of the foundation, said that the Legislative Yuan had nearly no control over the NT$840 billion (US$30.15 billion) set aside for a COVID-19 relief fund, while the only entity with any ability to oversee the CECC’s activity is the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.
As pandemic prevention measures have become the norm, the government is obligated to introduce legislative measures to provide a valid basis for what were previously emergency measures, Chen told an online forum hosted by the foundation.
Foundation representative Chien Jung-tsung (簡榮宗) said that Article 7 of the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例) gives the CECC’s head tremendous power via legislative processes of uncertain validity.
Moreover, it is to be determined whether the CECC’s “electronic fence” — a location tracking program that uses a mobile app to ensure that people who are quarantined remain in permitted places — and its SMS location log in system breach privacy rights, Chien said.
Article 7 of the act is more powerful than an emergency executive order issued by the president, he said, adding that such measures should not be allowed to persist and legislation should be required for the CECC to be allowed to wield such power.
Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲), an associate professor of law at National Tsing Hua University’s Institute of Law for Science and Technology, said that Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, has great power, but his position should still yield to democratic principles.
Measures that infringe upon the public’s rights should be backed up by legislation, Weng said.
In other countries, legislation is required to enforce mask-wearing, but in Taiwan, an administrative order issued by the CECC was sufficient, she said.
Lawmakers must demand that all measures adopted by the CECC be supported by special legislation, she said.
Taipei City Councilor Chang Shi-gang (張斯綱) said that the ministry, the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration would function without difficulty should the CECC be abolished.
The ministry should not be given the authority to decide on all things related to the pandemic, as this exceeds its mandate, Chang said.
As COVID-19 infections have rapidly declined, the government should return to normal operations and the Executive Yuan must resume leadership over pandemic policy, he said.
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