Lawmakers yesterday continued to argue over legislative oversight reforms pushed through in May after the Constitutional Court on Friday ruled that most of the amendments expanding the legislature’s power to oversee the executive branch of government are unconstitutional, including those that would have given legislators broader investigative powers.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) led a group of KMT legislators, including KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) and KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), in a protest outside the legislative chamber in Taipei, where they chanted slogans such as “For Republic of China” (ROC) and “We will not surrender.”
Fu said the ruling “officially drove the democratic ROC of the people, by the people and for the people back to the Qing Dynasty.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He called Friday a day of national disgrace, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Constitutional Court justices had invalidated the human rights entitled to all citizens of democratic countries.
Despite the ruling, the KMT caucus would continue to strive for democratic values, Fu said.
“We will neither succumb to President William Lai’s (賴清德) despotic administration, nor revise the laws pursuant to the constitutional ruling made by ‘green’ justices,” he said, referring to the color associated with the DPP.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
While the Presidential Office said that Lai would deliver a report on national policies at the legislature in accordance with the ruling, Fu questioned whether the president would properly answer legislators’ questions.
“If he is not willing to answer legislators’ questions, he would be better off promoting his policies at home on Facebook or through livestreaming,” he said.
“The KMT caucus does not welcome Lai’s report on his policies at the legislature. Lai should not disgrace the legislature with his presence,” he added.
Meanwhile, the DPP caucus yesterday convened a news conference to address the constitutional ruling.
They asked members of opposition parties to immediately refrain from slandering justices, as well as initiate a review of the legislature’s power of consent in accordance with the constitutional ruling.
The legislature’s investigation task force and the documents it has access to have been declared unconstitutional and should be terminated, the DPP caucus said.
The amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) should be suspended while the review is under way, it said.
The legislature should also immediately revise the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) in line with the ruling, it added.
In response to Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang’s (黃國昌) remark that the ruling has made the legislature “a tiger without teeth,” DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said the legislature was allowed to keep its “teeth,” but it could not act like “an insane dog going around biting people.”
The legislature still has its power, but it should be held accountable to prevent abuse, she said, adding that the DPP is willing to cooperate with the KMT and TPP to revise the bills to be legitimate and constitutional.
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
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by