With the Legislative Yuan to hold its final two plenary sessions of the term this week, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday raised concerns that the opposition might attempt to push through controversial amendments during Friday’s session.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) — together holding a majority in the legislature — would likely have at least four controversial bills on the agenda for Friday, including proposed amendments to articles 4 and 34 of the Act Governing the Handling of Properties Improperly Obtained by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例), and amendments to the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例), the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), and the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法), the DPP caucus said.
The proposed amendments disregard social fairness and justice, and serve only to protect specific individuals and interest groups, it said, adding that it would block the bills.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
DPP caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said that based on experience over the past two years, any bill backed by a KMT-TPP majority would pass unless the parties feared a public backlash.
“This demonstrates that in a democratic system, voters and elections are the ultimate safeguard,” he said.
Local elections are to take place at the end of the year, and KMT and TPP candidates would face scrutiny from their constituents over their stances on controversial bills, he said.
“The DPP caucus would continue to emphasize that these bills are designed to protect specific interests,” he said.
Proposed amendments related to party assets would only serve to shield organizations such as the National Women’s League and the China Youth Corps, which were both found to be associated with the KMT and its ill-gotten party assets, he said.
The so-called “CTi clause” in the Satellite Broadcasting Act would open the door for foreign forces to conduct cognitive warfare in Taiwan, and a proposed amendment to the Offshore Islands Development Act would serve as a tailor-made measure to facilitate “origin laundering” for Chinese goods, he said.
As for proposed amendments decriminalizing misuse of assistant expense funds, these were clearly intended to relieve KMT Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) of legal pressure, he said.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) previously said that the draft amendments for which procedures have been completed remain on his caucus’ agenda and would be discussed at its meetings.
He added that 38 emerging project budgets already sent directly to a second reading could be passed at the final plenary session, if Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) convenes cross-party consultations this week and the DPP acts “with the people’s hardship in mind.”
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