Voice of America reported that a number of legal amendments had been passed by Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament with the intention of strengthening the legislators’ ability to closely examine the administration of President Lai Ching-te, who took office on May 20.
Despite days of widespread protests that drew hundreds of thousands of protestors since May 17, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) utilized their combined majority to pass the laws on Tuesday. To become law, these bills need to be signed by the president.
The KMT parliamentary caucus convenor, Fu Kun-chi, is among the supporters of the amendments, arguing that they will strengthen checks and balances and give the legislature more authority to fight corruption. However, the amendments has raised serious concerns in academia and civil society.
“Now that Taiwan’s legislature has passed the bills, lawmakers will uncover all corrupt officials and all kinds of malpractices in the future,” remarked Fu, who announced plans to establish a “special investigation team” to probe corruption cases, according to Voice of America report.
As legislators voted on the amendments, thousands of protesters voiced dissent, passing around a giant white ball bearing the phrase “rejecting Chinese political interference.”Critics accuse the opposition parties of circumventing democratic norms by fast-tracking the legislative process without adequate inter-party negotiations. Liao Yan-cheng, a 78-year-old retiree, lamented, “There is a democratic negotiation mechanism in Taiwan’s parliament, but the opposition parties’ insistence on pushing the bills through the legislature without proper deliberation has violated regular democratic practices.”
Concerns extend to the potential misuse of legislative powers by the opposition parties to undermine the Lai administration’s governance over the next four years. Max Wang, an 18-year-old student, expressed apprehension, stating, “Since the opposition parties will maintain control over the legislature for the next four years, they can ramp through this controversial bill without following the proper legislative process.”
The amendments approved on Tuesday give parliamentarians the power to question public servants and demand yearly reports from the president. The legislature also obtains more authority over government spending and the capacity to look into government initiatives.
The KMT argues that the changes are required to limit the president’s broad powers, while the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) criticizes the changes and fears they could jeopardize Taiwan’s democracy.
But there are still a lot of questions regarding the reforms’ legitimacy. According to VOA, legal experts and bar associations have voiced concerns, pointing out possible constitutional infractions in the Republic of China.
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