Rights advocates and academics yesterday called on people to “defend democracy” and protest against “abuse of power” by lawmakers, on the first of three days of planned action outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
President William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday last week signed the Executive Yuan’s request to send a set of controversial legislative reform bills back to the legislature for reconsideration. The changes to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) and the Criminal Code were passed by opposition lawmakers voting in the majority on May 28.
The Legislative Yuan is to review and decide whether to accept the Executive Yuan’s motion tomorrow.
Photo: CNA
A series of gatherings, rallies and talks are also to take place across Taiwan, including in New Taipei City, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County today and tomorrow, said the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and Taiwan Citizen Front, the main organizers.
Protesters have dubbed the movement the “Bluebird Action” — named after the road next to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei where they gathered while the bills were being passed.
The focus is on the return of “Bluebird Action,” and two separate gatherings are to be held on closed-off streets north and south of the Legislative Yuan, so that people can join leading rights advocates and civil society organizations in demanding that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) do not to force through the bills, EDU convenor Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said.
“We will have more participants, concerned citizens, youth and student groups joining us [on the second and third days] to defend freedom and democracy in Taiwan,” he said. “People are angry and are willing to protest against the abuse of power by KMT lawmakers, who are ... contravening the Constitution, infringing on rights of citizens and dismantling Taiwan’s democratic institution.”
Lai said the bills of major concern involved the legislature setting up a special investigation division, three major transportation projects for Hualien and Taitung counties, and returning ill-gotten party assets to the China Youth Corps.
Other contentious bills involved “pro-China” CTi News regaining its operating license, denying voters the right to recall elected candidates, amendments to the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法), and giving lawmakers the right to appoint members to the National Communications Commission, Lai said.
“This three-day demonstration has many youth and student groups, civil society organizations joining forces,” EDU executive Hsu Kuan-tze (許冠澤) said. “If KMT and TPP lawmakers continue to ignore the wishes of the majority of the public, then we shall protest harder, because we will not allow Taiwan’s democracy to be dismantled.”
Several hundred people yesterday began to convene, listening to talks by rights advocates and lectures by academics, although they were disrupted by brief thundershowers. A few thousand attended an evening event on the south side of the Legislative Yuan.
Elsewhere, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party held a rally in Tainan.
Taiwan Statebuilding Party Tainan City Councilor Lee Chung-lin (李宗霖) said that KMT and TPP lawmakers are agents for China, serving the interest of their masters in Beijing.
“We urge Taiwanese to stand up, to remove these Chinese proxies from our parliament. If not, these ... Chinese agents will sell out Taiwan. We must strive to oust these KMT and TPP lawmakers ... only then can Taiwan become a real democratic nation,” Lee said.
Members of Taiwan Republic Office set up a banner reading “Eliminate KMT and TPP, End the Chaos in Legislature” in front of the Control Yuan before joining the “Bluebird Action” group in the afternoon.
Taiwan Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) said it is time for Taiwanese to rise up and reject the lawmakers who flout the wishes of people, by conspiring with China to take away Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.
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