The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime is a bully. After courts annulled the election of a number of KMT legislators, the party’s legislative caucus used its majority to push for an amendment to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) to extend the number of appeals for such verdicts.
Article 127 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act states: “An election or recall lawsuit shall be adjudicated conclusively in the second instance ... The court shall have it adjudicated and concluded within six months.”
This article was introduced in response to public calls for clean elections, with support from both the KMT and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). Unfortunately, the KMT is now amending the law simply because certain KMT lawmakers came unstuck, which is to say that the party has destroyed a good law for the sake of its own interests.
In so doing, the KMT is ignoring this society’s deep hatred of vote-buying.
The KMT is a vicious regime indeed. Substantial evidence has surfaced that two KMT lawmakers hold dual citizenship, leading to the possibility of their dismissal and prosecution. Surprisingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the KMT-controlled legislature stalled on the matter and displayed no regard for the law.
The accusation that KMT Legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) holds US citizenship has been thrown around for almost a year. To this day, she has failed to give any proof of her renouncement of US citizenship.
Although the legislature has checked on this matter with the US through MOFA, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊), who once held a US green card, has refused to announce the results of the probe.
MOFA and the legislature are thus passing the buck back and forth to cover their colleagues. Does one-party dominance mean that the KMT can cover up the truth and mislead the public?
The KMT’s poor conduct now extends to broadcast media. The Public Television Service (PTS) is supposed to be a form of public media, but the KMT is meddling with the station through legislative intervention.
Not only does the KMT control PTS’ budget, it is also now interfering with the station’s news broadcasts and regular programming, effectively turning PTS into the party’s private television facility.
Thanks to manipulation by the ruling party, the public nature of PTS will be destroyed and the station will turn into the party’s — or even Ma’s — tool. It will ultimately become a mouthpiece occupied by pro-blue-camp commentators.
Ma controls the government, while the KMT controls the legislature. The government and legislature are covering for each other and using one-party dominance to damage Taiwan’s democracy.
Together with KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), the KMT regime is acting like a bully, abusing Taiwan’s democratic politics with no regard for the law or morality.
The people of Taiwan must unite and speak out against these vicious actions — right now.
Hu Wen-huei is a Liberty Times columnist.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
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