The legislature today passed a motion to confirm the proceedings of a plenary session held on Mar. 25 which sent two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) referendum proposals to a second reading, after a contentious session marked by protests.
The bill passed last month contains two KMT proposals to hold a referendum on “opposing the imposition of martial law” and “opposing the abolition of the death penalty.”
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus had been occupying the podium for days to stage a protest against the bill which it said was pushed through with illegitimate means.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Today’s motion to confirm the proceedings of the plenary session on Mar. 25 was passed by a vote of 60 to 50.
As Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) announced that the proceedings were confirmed, DPP legislators chanted “the illegitimate meeting is invalid!”
After the plenary session began today, the DPP caucus proposed a bill to send 62 legislators from the opposition parties, including Han, KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) and Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), to the Discipline Committee for distorting legislative procedures, breaking the law and not following the rules.
The bill was not passed as the opposition holds a majority.
The DPP caucus then argued that the proceedings of the plenary session held on Mar. 25 should not be confirmed as the meeting, dubbed a “nighttime raid,” which was not extended according to the legislative procedure, was illegitimate and the minutes had errors.
The DPP legislators gathered in the chamber, holding placards showing a big cross on the minutes, chanting “oppose illegitimate vote” and “mass recall, big success.”
Han said the plenary session on Mar. 25 was extended until all legislators finished asking their questions as scheduled according to Rule 22 of the legislature’s Rules of Procedure at the request of the KMT caucus and the TPP caucus.
The meeting did not have the errors that the DPP suggested it has, Han said.
“Shame on you, democracy killer Han Kuo-yu!” the DPP legislators shouted as they pounded on tables to protest during the vote which passed as the opposition holds a majority.
If the opposition goes ahead with this, they can then pass bills anytime and anywhere they want in the future, DPP Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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