The Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China is planning to push through an empowerment bill, sparking large-scale protests among the public. Meanwhile, the Chinese military is conducting exercises in the waters near Taiwan, keeping a close eye on the situation. Retired ROC Army Major General Yu Beichen believes that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) assumption that stirring up turmoil in Taiwan through the Legislative Yuan will be successful is part of a deeply laid conspiracy. However, Taiwan’s constitutional system has the means to thwart their schemes.
Since May 17, the Legislative Yuan has been processing four cases including the “Exercise of Powers Act” proposed by the Kuomintang (KMT, Blue) and the People First Party (PFP, White), which have entered their eighth day of deliberation. On Friday, Han Kuo-yu presided over the review of legislation related to parliamentary powers until around 11:30 PM when recess was announced.
After three days and nights of intense battles, the Legislative Yuan has successfully passed key provisions such as adding the right to hold hearings, changing personnel confirmation rights to voting by name, and imposing a maximum fine of NT$200,000 (about 6,500 USD) for contempt of parliament. There are still 14 articles and 1 chapter title remaining to be processed, with the majority of proposed amendments by the Blue and White coalitions being rejected. The review will continue on the 28th.
Outside the Legislative Yuan, over 50 Taiwanese civic groups have rallied at the intersection of Qingdao East Road and Jinan Road, demanding that the bills on the exercise of legislative powers and contempt of parliament be sent back to committee for further review. Organizers announced that as of 9:33 PM on Friday, the number of protesters on-site had reached 100,000.
Major General Yu Beichen, now a city councilor in Taoyuan, expressed concerns about Article 47 of the Legislative Yuan’s “Exercise of Powers Act” on his personal YouTube channel on the 24th. He pointed out that this article allows the Legislative Yuan to establish special committees to oversee government agencies, armed forces, legal entities, groups, and relevant individuals in society, essentially putting all ROC citizens, except those without legal capacity, under its jurisdiction.
“This means the Legislative Yuan has unchecked power, placing it above the judiciary, supervisory, and executive branches,” Yu Beichen explained. He highlighted that if the Legislative Yuan orders individuals to appear for questioning within a specified time frame, failure to comply would result in illegal behavior punishable by fines ranging from NT$10,000 to NT$100,000 until the person shows up at the Legislative Yuan. Respon…
“This is a ridiculous, tyrannical exercise of power, it’s too thuggish,” added Yu Beichen, emphasizing that while legislators are elected by the people and have the responsibility to oversee the Executive Yuan, how can the Legislative Yuan supervise the people themselves? He warned against the alarming expansion of authority that could occur if Articles 47 and 48 of the “Exercise of Powers Act” are amended.
However, Yu Beichen reassured, “Because Taiwan is a democratic constitutional country, there are ways to address the Legislative Yuan’s empowerment. Just because the Legislative Yuan passes this law doesn’t mean it has to be enforced.”
“First, after the Legislative Yuan passes the law through the ‘third reading’ process, if one-third or more of the legislators believe this empowerment is unconstitutional, they can sign a petition to refer the matter to the Judicial Yuan’s Grand Justices. And before the matter is addressed, the President is not required to promulgate it. If the Grand Justices find the Legislative Yuan’s exercise of powers unconstitutional, the President can refuse to promulgate it and send it back to the Legislativ…
Under the Republic of China’s “Central Regulations Standards Law,” any law must be passed by the Legislative Yuan and promulgated by the President to become effective.
“In addition, the majority party in the Legislative Yuan has only one way to express its protest, which is to bring a motion of no confidence against the Premier of the Executive Yuan. The President has two ways to resolve a vote of no confidence: either accept it, replace the Premier of the Executive Yuan, or support the Premier and dissolve the parliament (Legislative Yuan). Do you think they (Blue and White camps) will win if the parliament is dissolved?”
Yu Beichen continued, “Therefore, everyone shouldn’t be so gloomy; according to the constitutional system of the Republic of China, there are solutions. If we use the mechanism of negotiation, it doesn’t have to be so confrontational. If Han Kuo-yu wants to negotiate, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point. If Han Kuo-yu negotiated with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the CCP couldn’t create trouble. Because the CCP doesn’t understand Taiwan’s constitutional system, it thinks causing turmoil in Taiwan through the Legislative Yuan will work. The CCP’s scheme and their cooperation with internal forces in Taiwan are well planned, but Taiwan’s constitutional system has ways to counter their conspiracies.”
In the aforementioned video, Yu Beichen also mentioned that exiled mainland Chinese author Yuan Hongbing gave him a book. He stated that in February this year, Yuan Hongbing revealed that since the CCP’s military strength cannot match that of the US and Japan, it might find another reason to intervene, potentially using turmoil in Taiwan as a pretext for military action. Thus, the hasty push for the Legislative Yuan’s “Exercise of Powers Act” is troubling, as it threatens people’s freedom, leading tens of thousands…
Addressing Yuan Hongbing’s disclosure, on Thursday, the Deputy Chairperson and Spokesperson of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, Liang Wen-chieh, responded to questions from reporters by stating that he had not seen the documents mentioned by Yuan Hongbing. However, such strategic thinking is a natural part of the United Front work by the CCP on the other side. “United Front work is actually about creating contradictions within the enemy and then exploiting them. So, if the other side’s United Front work has such thinking, I am not surprised at all.”
Previously, Yuan Hongbing revealed that on January 27, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the CCP submitted a document entitled “Strategic Points for United Front Strategy to Occupy the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan” to CCP leader Xi Jinping and the Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Wang Huning. This document was distributed to the heads of the United Front departments, CPPCC, and local Taiwan Affairs Offices in various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, aiming…