The Legislative Yuan yesterday entered into its agenda the Executive Yuan’s request for lawmakers to reconsider the controversial legislative reform bills it passed two weeks ago.
The request concerned amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) and the Criminal Code.
If they become law, the bills would grant the Legislative Yuan — which is currently controlled by opposition parties — broad investigative powers and the authority to hold officials in contempt.
Photo: Wang Teng-yi, Taipei Times
President William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday signed the Executive Yuan’s request for reconsideration, citing concerns that the proposed laws might contravene the Constitution.
The legislature’s Procedure Committee unanimously passed a motion to include the request on its agenda to be published tomorrow.
The method and schedule for deliberating the request would to be determined during interparty negotiations to be conducted at a later date, the committee said.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) issued a notice to the party caucuses that negotiations on handling the Executive Yuan’s request would be held at 9am today.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) said the party wished to discuss and vote on the request on Tuesday next week, adding that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) should explain what the Cabinet found difficult about the bills.
Cho filing the request so soon after being sworn into office was a “hostile act” and a challenge to the legislature’s autonomy, which the KMT found to be regrettable, Fu said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the party supports dealing with the matter in a fully transparent manner and in compliance with legislative regulations.
The DPP hopes the legislature withdraws the bills so it has no reason to obstruct the proceedings, he said, adding that the opposition should calm down and process the Executive Yuan’s publicly stated reasons for the request.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said that the 9pm delivery of the request for reconsideration was timed to impede the Legislative Yuan.
The Executive Yuan’s reasons for rejecting the bills were “the same as the fake news spread before by the DPP,” Huang said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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