People In Taiwan Are Holding Huge Protests Against A Law To Weaken The Pro-Independence President’s Power
One amendment would require the president to make an annual state of the nation address to lawmakers and answer questions on the spot.
Mass protests have been rocking Taiwan for weeks over a bill that would weaken the pro-independence president’s powers.
The proposal from the two major opposition parties, the Kuomintang (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), came just days before the former vice-president, William Lai, from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was to be inaugurated as the new president on May 20.
Lai won the election in January but the DPP lost its parliamentary majority.
The KMT now has the most seats in the parliament but still not a majority and has been working with the TPP to push through the bill.
One amendment would require the president to make an annual state of the nation address to lawmakers and answer questions on the spot.
The DPP says the KMT and TPP are trying to rush through the bills without a customary consultation process, and the debate erupted into a physical altercation in the parliament on May 18, when lawmakers from all three parties attacked each other.
The same evening, hundreds of protesters, mostly young people, gathered outside the legislature and held an impromptu demonstration against the opposition, calling on the parliament to properly review the proposed bill.
Protesters then staged three more protests in Taipei, which took place over May 21, May 24 and May 28, with up to 100,000 people taking to the streets on May 24, according to organizers.
Protests were also held throughout 10 cities and counties across Taiwan.
Protesters demonstrated against the opposition parties rushing the bill through, chanting, “no discussion, no democracy.”
However, on May 28, despite the mass protests, the parliament still passed the bill into law.
Kassy Cho
Kassy Cho
