Vote on Five Legislative Reform Bills on Tuesday
China Times, May 18, 2024
The Legislative Yuan is fighting again! On May 17, there was a battle over the vote on the five legislative reform bills in the chamber. The ruling and opposition party legislators continued to clash from morning to night. A total of six Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators were sent to the hospital. The DPP first used a siege strategy, trying to occupy the speaker’s rostrum from all directions, while the KMT clung to the rostrum and protected Speaker Han Kuo-yu. In the end, the DPP resorted to demanding repeated votes to delay the proceedings. Later, Speaker Han announced the adjournment of the meeting at noon, and the chamber will continue voting on May 21.
The five bills proposed by the opposition for parliamentary reform include normalizing the president's report of the state of the nation, adding provisions related to the Legislative Yuan's investigative powers and hearing rights, adding the offense of contempt of Legislative Yuan to the Criminal Code, strengthening the right to consent to personnel, and a registered voting system for the speaker and deputy speaker of the Legislative Yuan.
No Consensus Following 10 Waves of Physical Conflicts
The KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) worked together to launch a new version of the bill for a vote in the Chamber. The two parties only have different opinions on the draft Article 15-1 of the "Act Governing the Exercise of Powers of the Legislative Yuan" and the standards for holding the President's State of the Nation report. Therefore, the two parties each submitted a motion to amend the rest. All are jointly submitted versions.
On May 17, after more than 10 waves of physical fighting between the government and the opposition and two party consultations convened by Speaker Han, the KMT and TPP were unable to reach a consensus with the DPP. In the evening, Speaker Han, surrounded by the KMT legislators, began to vote item by item on the version of the five congressional reform laws. The DPP used procrastination tactics, continuously mentioning repeated voting, counting the number of voters, taking turns to speak, etc. As a result, even after 11 PM, no amendment to the law was passed on the third reading.
The KMT stayed overnight at the door of the Chamber three days in advance. When the conference room opened at 7 AM on the morning of May 17, it was the first to submit the case. This is because the order in which items are reviewed is "first come, first served," and there is no second review. If the version proposed by the Blue and White camps is passed, the other versions proposed by the DPP or the sporadic Blue and White legislators will not be reviewed.
If Passed, Contempt of Legislative Yuan to Become Chargeable Offense
Once the five legislative reform bills are passed by the Legislative Yuan, the future president should submit a report on the state of the country to the Legislative Yuan before February 1 of each year and go to the Legislative Yuan to make the report before March 1. The new president should submit a written report on the state of the country to the Legislative Yuan within two weeks after taking office, and report to the Legislative Yuan within one month. When the president faces questions from legislators, he should answer them subsequently.
In addition, the Legislator’s investigation and hearing powers will also be specified in chapters, clearly defining the legislator’s authority to investigate materials and interview personnel; the Criminal Code will also add the offense of contempt of the Legislative Yuan, which will greatly restrict the behavior of future government officials when they come to the Legislative Yuan, including not being able to refuse to reply, refuse to provide information, withhold information, give false replies, or engage in other acts in contempt of the Legislative Yuan. Civil servants who make false statements about important matters of which they are aware during hearings or questioning in the Legislative Yuan may be punished with a term of imprisonment of not more than one year, short-term detention, or a fine of not more than NT$200,000 in accordance with the newly-amended Criminal Code for contempt of the Legislative Yuan.
After eight years of silence, the KMT finally ushered in a moment of counterattack. On the morning of May 17, there were even members of the Blue camp wearing boxing gloves and helmets to prepare for the battle. As soon as the door to the meeting hall opened at 7 AM, fierce conflicts broke out immediately between the government and the opposition. First, DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ing pushed the reporters, and then DPP Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen slapped TPP Legislator Huang Kuo-chang.
After entering the Chamber, the conflict became even more intense. DPP Legislator Chung Jia-bin ignored the differences between men and women and bear-hugged KMT female Legislator Chen Ching-hui and threw Chen off the conference table. When it came to the time to vote on each item, the DPP members attacked from all directions and tried to seize the rostrum, causing harm to their own members in the action. In the end, a total of five DPP members and one KMT member were sent to the hospital for treatment. Fortunately, they were all fine and returned home on their own.
During the voting process, the DPP kept shouting and even threw liquids in the chamber, tore up the meeting materials, and protested while voting.
Taiping Island Trip Unchanged, But Departure Rescheduled to Morning of May 18
While conflicts continued inside the Chamber, there was even more commotion outside. At 9:30 PM of May 17, pro-DPP students gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan to protest against the Blue and White camps’ violation of procedural justice and that the substantive review of the Chamber should be stopped immediately. New Taipei City Councilor Huang Shu-chun also called for students from Black Bear College to protest at the Legislative Yuan. Late at night people were still pouring in.
In addition, the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan will visit Taiping Island on May 18. It was originally scheduled to leave for Pingtung on the afternoon of May 17, but it was later extended due to a meeting of the Legislative Yuan. The Committee issued a notice that night that it will gather at Taipei Songshan Airport at 5:40 AM on the 18, and the plane will take off at 6 o'clock to the Air Force Base in Pingtung, and then transferred to Taiping Island.
The physical conflict in the Legislative Yuan has also attracted the attention of foreign media. Reuters reported that Taiwan is a rambunctious democracy, and conflicts in the Legislative Yuan occasionally occur. There may be more unrest and parliamentary conflict after the administration of President William Lai takes office. The British "Telegraph" reported that Taiwan's legislators punched, kicked, and pushed each other during a heated debate on a series of reforms in the Legislative Yuan. The BBC opined that Taiwan is one of the most dynamic democracies.
From: https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20240518000381-260118