After Taiwan’s ruling party advanced with a highly contentious” hatred of parliament” costs, tens of thousands of supporters are expected to obtain outside parliament on Friday.
The new law, according to the opposition Kuomintang party ( KMT ), is urgently needed to correct the power imbalance between the legislature and Taiwan’s extraordinarily powerful presidency.
However, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party ( DPP ) claims that it is an unlawful power grab and is intended to avenge the DPP-led government, which is led by President William Lai Ching-te.
The bill will give Taiwan’s parliament more authority to question and question the professional, as well as lawsuit government officials and private people, which could make them compelled to turn over sensitive files to legislators.
Additionally, it includes a” hatred of the legislature” provision that may impose penalties and even a year in prison for officials who defame the government. Legitimate researchers have criticized the final provision a lot, saying it goes far beyond what is accepted in other democratic nations.
When the act was first introduced in Taipei in May, intense demonstrations erupted as tens of thousands of people crowded the country’s legislature for days. However, there was a pause when it was submitted for review at Mr. Lai’s company.
The bill was sent back to the legislature for consideration by Mr. Lai, who supported a fragile coalition of the KMT, the smaller Taiwan People’s Party ( TPP ), and independents. It was then approved once more, this time with relative ease.
However, the DPP has been asking for its supporters to show up, even if it is just a metaphorical demonstration of their opposition to the bill. The KMT held a counter-protest on Friday, but the attendance was significantly lower than the DPP’s next month.
The demonstrations, however, have come to indicate a strong political split in Taiwan, between backers of the DPP and the KMT.
For years, KMT, the celebration of the Chinese patriots, ruled Taiwan with an iron fist, brutally suppressing all names for democracy or freedom – many of the older DPP officials were jailed for being radical. The two functions are currently vying for control through the voting booth. However, the outdated concerns are then causing gridlock in congress.
Even though President Lai was simply elected one month ago, his chances of getting something significant done during his first phrase are looking grim now because of the lack of a majority in a divided parliament.
There is real worry about what is happening inside the government on the sidewalks. The hundreds of DPP supporters appear to think that the abuse of the legislature bill is a case of parliamentary coup d’etat.
” The procedure is pretty unfair and has skipped any considerable discussion”, says 33- year- ancient Powei Chang. The act itself lacks clarity and is very risky. Essentially, it allows politicians to increase their authority without the people’s assent.
The fact that the politicians in issue have a majority in parliament is insufficient for Mr. Chang.
The people who have been surrounding legislature are from a mix- part of Taiwan world: young and old, students, professionals, violet- collar workers. They wait patiently for columns of foam chairs to arrive. A constant stream of activists take the camera to blab what is happening inside the chamber on a make-shift stage.
In May, when a great day thundershower washed over the town, organisers handed out cheap ponchos, and the better- prepared raised a jungle of umbrellas. No- one returned.
A strong sense of Chinese identity and a profound hostility of the KMT’s motivations make them two things, they are unified by.
A young woman named Eden Hsu says,” I think what’s happening in Taiwan right now needs to be up against.” We must not allow those who are attempting to sell Taiwan to believe they can do it without criticism.
Buy out Taiwan to who? To China.
She claims that “many rules of the expenses seem to be influenced by the Chinese Communist Party.” ” The Chinese Communist Party intends to… permeate Taiwan with both internal and external help.”
This is a saying that is repeated repeatedly by protesters on level and in the streets. There is a common misconception among those opposed to the expenses that Beijing is now the KMT leadership’s seat of power.
Protesters and activists point to top KMT politicians ‘ frequent trips to China as evidence, both from a legal perspective. Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan’s aging past KMT leader, is one of them. He has visited China twice in the past six decades. President Xi Jinping himself welcomed him in Beijing in April, but he has resolutely rejected any discourse with Mr. Lai or Tsai Ing-wol. He has steadfastly rejected any dialogue.
One also known DPP lawmaker describes ex- leader Ma as Beijing’s “most significant political asset” in Taiwan.
The KMT Speaker Han Kuo-yu, who DPP supporters frequently derisively refer to as” the Korean Fish,” a homonym on his name in Chinese, are other people who are seen as being “very close to Beijing.”
” He is not really blue]the colour of the KMT party flag ]”, one DPP politician says. ” He’s red ]( the colour of the communist party flag ]”.
Another accused of being “red” is the man in charge of pushing through the” contempt of legislature” bill, KMT caucus leader Fu Kun- chi. Mr. Fu is a powerful power broker with a contentious past, including a stint in prison after being found guilty of insider trading and creating a fraudulent divorce. He visits China frequently, too.
All of this provides useful news to the rumor and innuendo mill. However, it is not conclusive that senior KMT leaders and Beijing conspired. In fact, the KMT leadership has repeatedly criticized its innocence and pointed to its long history of opposition to the Chinese Communist Party.
” I have more reason than the DPP to hate Beijing”, says Alexander Huang the head of KMT’s international department. ” The whole idea]of the bill ] is to make the executive more accountable – that’s it”.
However, when the KMT held control of the legislature and presidency between 2008 and 2016, the DPP, then in charge, opposed opposition demands for a very similar law.
Once the bill becomes law, the KMT has also suggested that it might start looking into DPP leaders.
” For eight years the DPP had a super majority. They had the freedom to obtain anything. According to Mr. Huang, the executive and legislative bodies are working together to benefit Taiwan’s resources.