English statement
We are a group of Taiwanese working, studying, and living overseas. We hereby express our grave concern about the ongoing attempt to seize power in the Legislative Yuan. Through this petition, we hope friends and supporters of Taiwan worldwide can encourage more people to pay attention to the abuse of power happening in the Legislative Yuan. We also want to let frontline activists in Taiwan know that, even though we are not physically in Taiwan, we will continue to support them in any way we can and are behind them every step of the way. If you share our concern and want to stand in solidarity with Taiwan, please sign our petition.
Here are the reasons why the current abuse of power in the Legislative Yuan is especially concerning:
1. Arbitrary and Disorderly Legislative Process
Our expectations for legislative reform are straightforward: legislative processes should embody the spirit of “respect for public opinions” and “responsible government.” An effective legislative process should enable citizens to understand and monitor developments while providing channels for expressing opinions. Discussions should include effective exchanges of views and the translation of complex laws into language that the general public can understand. At the very least, citizens should be able to know which bills their elected legislators support or oppose and whether these align with their values. This involves citizens in the political process, as should any democracy, and helps them decide whether to vote for a particular legislator in the future. A legislator’s duty is to debate bills rather than pass as many bills as possible in the shortest amount of time. Legislative procedures must involve adequate deliberation before any decision is made. The essence of Taiwan’s democracy lies in communication and reasoning, allowing all parties to reflect their views and develop a consensus on how Taiwanese people want to move forward together.
The current proposals are not reforms in any meaningful sense; instead, they are regressive. One of the most controversial issues in the current legislative process is the hijacking of the process of clause-by-clause consideration by the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). Before the second reading, clause-by-clause considerations in each committee provide an opportunity to compare different versions of a bill and reach a preliminary consensus. This process, along with live broadcast channels, allows the public to better understand the legislative process and the details of a bill. It is an important form of communication not only between legislators but also between legislators and society. But the KMT and TPP rushed to send the draft out of committee for a floor vote without these important discussions.
Consequently, the public is unable to know the reasons why KMT and TPP members supported or opposed the various clauses in different versions of the bill. Accountability is further undermined by the lack of any record of public debate. Apart from a few explanatory notes in each legislative proposal, there is no way to understand or supervise the process. On May 17, the KMT abused the amendment motion, released the finalized version of the bill only in the morning of voting, and tried to push the bill through the legislature on the same day. Only when controversies over the bill reached a tipping point did legislators begin to communicate with the public. But at this time, the KMT and TPP remained intent on passing the bill as quickly as possible. On May 23, KMT legislator Wu Zongxian stated at an international press conference that explanations to the public would take place after the passage of the bill into law. Such a move completely disregards public opinion. If clause-by-clause discussions had taken place, there would have been effective debate in the committee, which regrettably did not happen. In addition to flaws in legislative procedure and the utter lack of willingness by legislators to communicate their actions to the public, the most important question regarding the bill remains unanswered: should legislators in Taiwan even be granted powers that surpass the executive and supervisory branches of government, or even the Constitution?
2. The KMT and TPP Subverts the Constitution
We support legislative reforms that enhance the quality of legislative oversight and make legislative procedures more transparent and accountable. We oppose any move that violates the constitutional principle of separation of powers by allowing the legislative power to override other constitutionally established branches of government. The KMT and TPP are now trying to railroad their bill, claiming that it is modeled after the “contempt of Congress” law in the United States that seeks to balance presidential and executive powers. But this representation is misleading. While the US’s contempt of Congress law serves to prevent witnesses from committing perjury in testimony after oath, the KMT-TPP’s version of the law expands the “investigative power” of the Legislative Yuan, which essentially increases legislative authority. These are two fundamentally different concepts. The KMT-TPP bill does not introduce corresponding balances for executive and judicial powers. Instead, they subvert Taiwan's Constitution.
According to the current amendments to the Legislative Yuan Functioning Act proposed by the KMT and TPP, which has passed the second reading, those being interpellated are prohibited from “counter-interpellating,” refusing to respond, withholding information, concealing information, or providing false responses. The issue with these proposals, however, is that there are no clear standards for determining these offenses. For instance, regarding the discussion of confidential information that should otherwise not be disclosed, the bill only requires the “chairperson's consent,” potentially forcing the disclosure of highly sensitive information during testimony.
Furthermore, the amendment grants excessive power to the Legislative Yuan and the Investigative Committee established by legislators, enabling them to “request information” from governmental institutions, the military, and the private sectors. Non-compliance is subject to penalties as determined by the Legislative Yuan. But the bill lacks regulations and checks on key issues such as the impartiality of the Investigative Committees, preventing interference into judicial independence, protecting confidential information, and avoiding conflicts of interest within the committees. Consequently, this bill undermines the professional judgment of the executive branch, which would lead governmental officials to fear legal repercussions and thus avoid substantive and in-depth responses during testimony. This amendment risks transforming the Legislative Yuan into a tool for opposition parties to sabotage the ruling party without justification, potentially leading to legislative paralysis and government dysfunction. The amendment increases the risk of confidential information leaking to the Chinese Communist Party, which would benefit Beijing.
3. Amendment Endangers Taiwan and Hurts the Economy
Despite procedural and substantive disputes, the amendment to the Legislative Yuan Functioning Act has passed the second reading. Upcoming regulations, such as the Hualien-Taitung Three Bills, that affect major infrastructure projects will likely be approved without thorough examination given the opposition parties’ numerical advantage. The Chinese Communist Party is putting pressure on Taiwan diplomatically, and the implementation of such legislation will likely create constitutional crises and economic instability. These changes may damage trust in Taiwan’s investment climate and jeopardize the country’s recent advancements in technology and economic successes.
Additionally, the risk of confidential information leaks and national security threats associated with these regulations pose critical dangers that can potentially be exploited by external entities to undermine Taiwan’s democracy. This endangers Taiwan’s diplomatic relations with Europe, the United States, and other countries, ultimately affecting regional security dynamics.
Due to the above concerns, we invite like-minded individuals overseas to join our campaign against the KMT and TPP’s abuse of legislative powers in Taiwan. We call upon everyone to mobilize their friends and family to support our social media photo campaign and express global solidarity with Taiwan. Stand with Taiwan from around the world.
Please see our photo campaign here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559625676775
Initiators Overseas Taiwanese protesting against the abuse of legislative powers
Yi-Ting Chung, Stanford History PhD student
Wen-Kai Huang, Yahoo/Sr. Software Dev Engineer
Ricky Yeh, Consumer Healthcare Product Analytics Lead
Pei-Chieh Hsu, University of Cambridge PhD candidate
Mengchun Chiang, Carnegie Mellon University, Assistant Director of Training
Chiao-Yuan Ko, University College London/ PhD student
Jung Chen, University of Cambridge/ PhD Candidate
Ting-Sian Liu, London School of Economics and Political Science/ PhD student