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Taiwan Lawmakers Defy Protesters, Still Look to Pass Bill
(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan’s opposition lawmakers will make a final push on Friday to pass a bill aimed at reining in new President Lai Ching-te’s administration, likely generating more large protests on the island at the heart of US-China tensions.
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The two-day break is temporarily calming tensions in Taipei, where several thousand Lai supporters and others gathered outside the legislature on Tuesday evening to voice their anger over the amendments.
On Wednesday, only a handful of protesters remained outside parliament, though more are expected when lawmakers take up the bill again. Lai’s backers have erected tents and stocked up on water and supplies, apparently preparing for bigger protests.
Demonstrators say the amendments, which would expand the legislature’s oversight of the president, have been rushed because they skipped some review stages and could be used to undermine Lai’s government by bogging it down in probes.
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The confrontation comes just days after Lai was inaugurated and adds to the difficulties he’s facing leading the island that makes the bulk of the world’s most advanced chips. China, which has pledged to eventually bring the island under its control, has already signaled it will continue with the kind of economic, diplomatic and military pressure that former President Tsai Ing-wen dealt with for the past eight years.
Stock investors have mostly shrugged off the unrest for now, focusing instead on Nvidia Corp.’s upcoming earnings release. The benchmark Taiex gauge rose 1.5% on Wednesday, extending its record. The Taiwan dollar rose 0.1% to 32.28 versus the greenback.
On Tuesday, lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party made progress on changes to the law that would allow for the creation of committees to investigate the government.
Those bodies could require the government, military and private entities to provide witness testimony and documents to assist in probes. Unlike in the US and some other presidential systems, Lai has no ability to veto the law if it passes the legislature.
Individuals or parties that don’t comply could be repeatedly fined as much as NT$100,000 ($3,100).
The opposition parties, which won a parliamentary majority in the January election that brought Lai to power, are also seeking changes to the law that would require officials to appear more frequently in the legislature to answer questions. Individuals could be subject to criminal punishment if they are found in contempt of the legislature.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party has said the amendments are unconstitutional and are intended “to undermine the constitution and disrupt government.” The KMT has accused the DPP of blocking reform of the legislature and not engaging in serious debate.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu defended the changes his party is proposing at a press briefing on Wednesday, saying they were similar to reforms put forward by the DPP in recent years.
He also called for an end to demonstrations. “Don’t use people on the street to restrain the legislature, that era is over,” he said, an apparent reference to the Sunflower Movement of 2014.
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Back then tens of thousands of activists, most of them students, disrupted the work of lawmakers for weeks. The dispute was over KMT plans to boost trade with China, and the demonstrations ultimately succeeded in forcing the party to drop the idea.
Chris Chiang, a veteran of the Sunflower demonstrations who was outside the legislature Tuesday night, said that “attending protests is an instinct.”
“We know when people gather and make us our voices heard, we can make a difference,” said the 30-year-old who works in digital marketing in Taipei.
Lai took office Monday with a weak mandate after winning just 40% of the vote in January’s election. The KMT won the most seats in the legislature and took control of the speaker’s role. Its partnership with the TPP gives it a majority in parliament.
Underscoring how contentious the opposition’s bill is, lawmakers scuffled in the legislature last week, leaving several with minor injuries.
--With assistance from Charlotte Yang.
(Updates with Eric Chu’s briefing and comments from protester.)
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