protests of the population against the pro-Chinese bill

The opposition, formed by the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People’s Party and with a majority in Parliament, has presented a series of amendments that provide for intense interrogations of government officials, including the president. Modifications that, according to some, risk reducing the country’s political freedoms in favor of Beijing’s objectives. Yesterday’s protests were inspired by the 2014 Sunflower Movement.

Taipei () – Lai Ching-te’s presidency began with a series of protests against pro-Chinese opposition parties. Yesterday, from 9 in the morning until midnight, around 30 thousand people gathered in front of Parliament to demonstrate against a bill that seeks to expand the control of the Legislative Branch over the Executive. The Kuomintang deputies began the approval phase of the amendments without subjecting them to review, as required by the usual procedure, a decision that generated new confrontations in Parliament after the violent ones on Friday, when the text was discussed for the first time.

The situation is complicated for Lai, who took office on Monday without a majority in Parliament, after obtaining 40% of the preferences. In the elections of January 13, in fact, the Democratic Progressive Party (from which the president comes) obtained only 51 of the 113 parliamentary seats, while the opposition, formed by the Kuomintang and in this matter by the Taiwan People’s Party , respectively obtained 52 and eight seats.

The controversial reform bill would, among other things, allow the Legislature to summon individuals and government officials, including the president, for parliamentary questioning. Refusing to appear could lead to a criminal charge of “insult to Parliament”, with a penalty of up to three years in prison. Those interrogated would be forced to reveal confidential matters, such as state secrets related to diplomatic agreements, commercial secrets or information on the purchase of weapons. The bill also provides that it will not be possible to answer interrogation questions with another question, under penalty of a fine of up to 200,000 Taiwan dollars (5,710 euros). Supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party fear that these reforms could be used by the Kuomintang to attack its political adversaries and force them to reveal (to China) classified information that would endanger national security.

The amendments proposed by the opposition also include a speech by the president before the deputies at least once a year (until now planned, although optionally) but above all an expenditure of 61 billion dollars on infrastructure, a figure that runs the risk of preventing new investments in the Defense sector. In recent years, under President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan has increased its military budget to $20 billion to discourage attacks from Beijing. So far, Lai has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor: in his inauguration speech she affirmed his willingness to maintain the status quo with Beijing, promising more funding for defense. The new president has not yet intervened directly on the issue; on the contrary, he has maintained a certain distance from the protests, probably – according to analysts – to avoid the suspicion that they were orchestrated by the Democratic Progressive Party.

Yesterday, numerous protesters and dozens of civil society organizations made reference to the Sunflower Movement of 2014, when hundreds of thousands of people occupied the Legislative Yuan (Parliament of Taiwan) for a month to protest against a free trade agreement with China that the Kuomintang – then in power – hoped to approve, also on that occasion without having previously obtained the necessary parliamentary reviews. In the end the Movement, which feared that the agreement would have an impact on Taiwan’s political freedoms, managed to force the Kuomintang to abandon the plans. New demonstrations are planned for May 24 and 28, when the bill will be discussed again in Parliament.