Contentious Opposition-Led Bills All Pass After Days of Wrangling

TaiwanPlus News

The legislature has passed all Kuomintang-led amendments to major laws following days of physical clashes among lawmakers and demonstrations on the streets.

Transcript

00:00Conflict in the legislature leading deep into the night.

00:06Speaker Han Kuo-yu approves a third revision to Taiwan's laws.

00:12A clean sweep for the main opposition party, the Kuomintang, who put forward three amendment

00:18bills which have dominated recent legislative discussions and reignited physical fights

00:23with the ruling party that's included taped off doors and broken windows.

00:31The amendments, now laws, cleared by the opposition-led chamber, including the Taiwan People's Party,

00:37will make it more difficult for voters to recall elected officials, requiring ID on

00:43top of signatures.

00:44It will redistribute taxpayer money by giving a larger share to local governments.

00:50And it will raise the threshold for constitutional court rulings, mandating 10 justices hear

00:56a case.

00:57It's a result the ruling Democratic Progressive Party warn as damaging to Taiwanese democracy.

01:03After yesterday's legislative vote, the Chinese government's system has changed.

01:09In terms of constitution, the five-council system is broken.

01:15The central and local governments are broken.

01:18The DPP has also taken issue with the way the opposition has passed the bills, a stance

01:24that has drawn demonstrations, with people turning out by the thousands across multiple

01:29days of protests.

01:34Some warning of possible influence from authoritarian China on the Kuomintang.

01:39Posting to social media, President Lai Ching-teh said the rulings were forcibly passed and

01:45have deprived the rights of the Taiwanese people.

01:48In an earlier post, the KMT said it is the one protecting democracy, pointing to the

01:54DPP's behavior as the obstruction of justice.

01:58They say DPP lawmakers repeatedly refused to engage in earlier discussions, stalling

02:04sessions to block the bills from passing.

02:07Now that the bills have passed, they will be sent to President Lai to be signed into

02:12law within 10 days.

02:14If he does not agree to it, he can file for a constitutional interpretation, a move that

02:20could cause more trouble, as the parties are also locked in a fight over the constitutional

02:25court on nominating new justices, another battle in an ongoing war between Taiwan's

02:31political parties in multiple arenas.

02:34Joseph Wu and Joyce Tsen for Taiwan Plus.

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