Lawmakers yesterday continued to argue over legislative oversight reforms pushed through in May after the Constitutional Court on Friday ruled that most of the amendments expanding the legislature’s power to oversee the executive branch of government are unconstitutional, including those that would have given legislators broader investigative powers.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) led a group of KMT legislators, including KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) and KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), in a protest outside the legislative chamber in Taipei, where they chanted slogans such as “For Republic of China” (ROC) and “We will not surrender.”
Fu said the ruling “officially drove the democratic ROC of the people, by the people and for the people back to the Qing Dynasty.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He called Friday a day of national disgrace, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Constitutional Court justices had invalidated the human rights entitled to all citizens of democratic countries.
Despite the ruling, the KMT caucus would continue to strive for democratic values, Fu said.
“We will neither succumb to President William Lai’s (賴清德) despotic administration, nor revise the laws pursuant to the constitutional ruling made by ‘green’ justices,” he said, referring to the color associated with the DPP.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
While the Presidential Office said that Lai would deliver a report on national policies at the legislature in accordance with the ruling, Fu questioned whether the president would properly answer legislators’ questions.
“If he is not willing to answer legislators’ questions, he would be better off promoting his policies at home on Facebook or through livestreaming,” he said.
“The KMT caucus does not welcome Lai’s report on his policies at the legislature. Lai should not disgrace the legislature with his presence,” he added.
Meanwhile, the DPP caucus yesterday convened a news conference to address the constitutional ruling.
They asked members of opposition parties to immediately refrain from slandering justices, as well as initiate a review of the legislature’s power of consent in accordance with the constitutional ruling.
The legislature’s investigation task force and the documents it has access to have been declared unconstitutional and should be terminated, the DPP caucus said.
The amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) should be suspended while the review is under way, it said.
The legislature should also immediately revise the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) in line with the ruling, it added.
In response to Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang’s (黃國昌) remark that the ruling has made the legislature “a tiger without teeth,” DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said the legislature was allowed to keep its “teeth,” but it could not act like “an insane dog going around biting people.”
The legislature still has its power, but it should be held accountable to prevent abuse, she said, adding that the DPP is willing to cooperate with the KMT and TPP to revise the bills to be legitimate and constitutional.
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