The Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) convened today (17th) to review the relevant bills on parliamentary reform, leading to intense conflicts between ruling and opposition lawmakers, resulting in several legislators being sent to the hospital. Reports from the media indicated that in the evening, hundreds of citizens gathered outside the chamber to protest, chanting slogans such as “No discussion, no democracy” and demanding a halt to the voting and substantive review.
The Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China deliberated on the parliamentary reform bills proposed by the Kuomintang and People First Party, aiming to push for a third reading and declaring they would engage in a decisive battle through a night session. The opposition camp is not satisfied with the parliamentary reform bills, arguing that measures like adding the offense of contempt of parliament would expand lawmakers’ powers and that the provisions related to investigation hearings and the President’s national status report are unconstitutional.
As reported by various media outlets, when the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China addressed the parliamentary reform bills and entered into item-by-item discussions, intense clashes erupted around 7 p.m. By 10 p.m., a total of six legislators, including Democratic Progressive Party members Shen Po-yang, Tsong Chia-pin, Chiu Chih-wei, Chuang Jui-hsiung, Guo Guo-wen, and Kuomintang legislator Wu Tsung-hsien, had been hospitalized due to health issues.
Later in the evening, hundreds of citizens gathered on Chingdeh Road outside the Legislative Yuan, chanting slogans such as “No discussion, no democracy.” Participants expressed that they were a group of young people and students concerned about Taiwan’s democracy, who spontaneously gathered after observing what they perceived as unreasonable behaviors from the Kuomintang and People First Party caucuses in the news.
According to reports from the Central News Agency, during the Legislative Yuan’s voting showdown, representative Luo Yi mentioned that the scene of Shen Po-yang being pulled off the chairman’s podium by Kuomintang legislators and falling to the ground was very distressing. Luo criticized the lack of transparency in the agenda, with no reading of the bill’s content during the voting session. Moreover, the contents of the amendment proposals put forth by the Kuomintang and People First Party caucuses were unclear, indicating that this was not the Legislative Yuan desired by the people.
Luo Yi further emphasized that while controversial bills could be debated, shutting down discussions entirely was unacceptable to the public.