Mon, Dec 23, 2024 page2

• KMT a ‘gang of four’: DPP

  DISMANTLING DEMOCRACY: DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming accused the KMT and TPP of being instructed by the Beijing government to harm Taiwan

  • By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
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  Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) yesterday said the Legislative Yuan has a “Gang of Four” trying to destroy the nation and dismantle the democratic system.

  Singling out Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), Ker told a press conference that it was the two parties’ leaders who contrived to force through three amendment bills on Friday, which Ker said would “ruin democratic institutions, paralyze the Constitutional Court and plunder the government.”

  The amendments passed on Friday after brawls between lawmakers from the opposition and DPP.

  

  Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming speaks at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times

  The amendments included changes to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) that stipulate those proposing and signing recall petitions provide a copy of the front and back of their national ID cards.

  Amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) would require 10 judges for a quorum and the support of at least nine judges before legislation can be declared unconstitutional.

  Amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) increase funding allocations to local governments.

  “All citizens should stand up and rally together to defend Taiwan’s democracy. We must let them know that the combined 62 legislators of the KMT and TPP cannot override the wishes of Taiwan’s 23 million people,” Ker said. “Taiwan is now in a crucial moment, facing a crisis of life and death. So we all must unite as one to defend democratic values, and safeguard our nation’s future.”

  Ker held negotiations with Han and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) to persuade the speaker to follow legislative procedure during the process, he said.

  More time is needed for discussion, public input and deliberation on the amendments, Ker said, adding that six months of deliberation on the details of government revenues and expenditures would be needed before presenting the bill.

  However, the KMT demanded that DPP legislators must not stage protests, must not occupy the speaker’s podium, and that on amending the recall election law, the DPP must not request a constitutional interpretation, Ker said.

  All three bills must pass the third reading by the end of this month, Ker quoted the KMT negotiators as saying.

  These conditions are instructed by the Beijing government, designed to dismantle democracy and end the existence of Taiwan as a country, Ker said.

  Separately, the Judicial Reform Foundation in a statement yesterday condemned the two opposition parties, accusing them of ravaging the nation’s judiciary system.

  The opposition parties used violence and roughshod ways that contravened legislative procedures, it said.

  Additional reporting by staff writer
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