Taipei, Taiwan:

Taiwan’s parliament passed a package of controversial bills on Tuesday to expand its power as thousands of disapproving protesters rallied outside and chanted “defend democracy”.

Proponents say expanded parliamentary powers are needed to curb corruption but critics fear the laws could weaken the self-ruled island’s democracy against the influence of China, which claims it as part of its territory. 

New Taiwan President Lai Ching-te represents the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which advocates for the island’s sovereignty but lost its majority in parliament in January elections.

The bills were proposed by the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party that is widely regarded as friendlier to Beijing, and passed with the support of the upstart Taiwan People’s Party on Tuesday after several sessions.

Among the amendments passed was one requiring the president to hold a “State of the Nation” address to parliament and answer legislators’ questions, a first for Taiwan. 

The parliament can now also exercise its “power of investigation”, requiring government agencies, military units, private companies or relevant individuals to provide information. 

They may be fined up to NT$100,000 ($3,100) if they refuse, stall or conceal information.

“Many of our friends outside are frustrated and sad, and we regret that the evil bills to expand parliament’s power are passed today,” said DPP lawmaker Huang Jie.

“It’s absurd that even after the third reading, the complete clauses are still not released on the parliament’s website… The process is in a black box from the very first to the very last moment,” Huang said.

‘It’s not over’

The DPP hung banners around parliament’s main chamber that read “oppose expanding power, support Taiwan”, while party lawmakers threw paper planes at the KMT during Tuesday’s lengthy session.

Another bill passed penalises “contempt of parliament”, which could lead to a further fine of NT$200,000. 

The DPP has said the laws were pushed through without proper consultation, with lawmaker Chiu Yi-ying accusing the KMT of “following (Chinese President) Xi Jinping’s plan”.

Protesters rallied through the night, holding signs that said “no discussions, no democracy”. 

“This matter has become a long-term battle, it’s not over,” said protester Wang Tin-lin, 39, after hearing that the bills had passed. 

“We will not lose confidence and fighting spirit because of this incident.”

Tens of thousands of protesters surrounded the parliament at the height of the demonstrations on Friday, sitting in heavy rain demanding that lawmakers drop the bills.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chaos erupted at the Taiwan Parliament on Friday after a bitter dispute over a controversial reform bill. In the middle of the chaos, Guo Guowen, a Member of the Parliament, swiftly snatched the bill documents and made a dramatic dash to prevent it from being passed, showed an online video.

???????? LMAO: A member of Taiwan’s parliament stole a bill “with the speed of an American football player” to prevent it from being passed.

-> That should just be an official process in any democracy. Love it … haha pic.twitter.com/0C4T4DbbSU

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) May 17, 2024

The incident occurred just days before President-elect Lai Ching-te is set to take office on Monday, having won January’s election even though his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) does not have a majority in the legislature, according to Reuters. 

Kuomintang (KMT), the primary opposition party, has more seats than the DPP but not enough to control the parliament alone. So, they are teaming up with the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to push for their common goals. The opposition wants to give parliament more power to check the government’s actions, including a controversial plan to punish officials who lie in parliament.

Even before the votes were cast, some lawmakers screamed and shoved each other outside the legislative chamber. Later, the parliament floor saw chaos as lawmakers turned to the Speaker’s seat, jumped onto tables, and pinned down colleagues to the floor. More scuffles followed in the afternoon.

One lawmaker was hospitalised after falling off a platform and injuring his head, reported Khaleej Times. 

The DPP accused the KMT and TPP of trying to push through proposals without proper consultation, calling it “an unconstitutional abuse of power.” DPP lawmaker Wang Mei-hui, representing the southern city of Chiayi, stated, “Why are we opposed? We want to be able to have discussions, not for there to be only one voice in the country,” reported Reuters. 

Jessica Chen of the KMT, who represents the Taiwan-administered Kinmen islands near China, argued that the reforms were aimed at improving the legislature’s oversight of the executive branch and stated that the DPP does not want the bill to pass “because they are used to having all the power.”

In 2020, KMT lawmakers had strewn pig guts onto the chamber’s floor during a disagreement about US pork imports.