Eradicate DPP’s Tyranny of Majority in Parliament

 Eradicate DPP’s Tyranny of Majority in Parliament

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

December 15, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

"The separation of powers" and "checks and balances" are the fundamental principles of the operations of democracy. Nevertheless, the DPP, in complete control of the government, is oblivious to these principles; legislators have been reduced to "rubber stamps" of the executive branch and tools of political struggles by voluntarily giving up their own kung fu. The DPP, on the eve of the presidential and legislative elections, has doubled down, railroading the amendments bills to the "Examination Yuan Organic Act" and to the "National Intelligence Work Act." The former would erode the constitutional framework of “separation of powers” and the latter, on the other hand, would be the business edition of “Anti-Infiltration Bill,” impacting the coopetitive relationship between Taiwan businessmen with external rivals; the DPP subsequently proclaimed that the “Anti-Infiltration Act” must be rammed through. The DPP has abused the majoritarian superiority, erecting the DPP's authoritarian system, wanting to turn around the country's adverse external destiny. In the 2020 presidential election, besides removing Tsai Ing-wen from power, we should not even allow the DPP to retain a parliamentary majority.

What is most ridiculous and far-fetched is that the DPP seized the opportunity of the Wang Liqiang spy case to introduce a bill titled "Anti-Infiltration Act" without even a Cabinet version, referring to the plenary session for the second reading, by-passing committee discussions and review. Subsequently, the Legislative Yuan rapidly passed in the third reading the amendment bill to the National Intelligence Work Act, increasing the penalty for espionage to the maximum life sentence, without any fixed statute of limitations, while the scope of applicability being extended from national defense, foreign affairs, cross-Strait relations to confidential business information.

Next year's general elections are not simply competitions between candidates and between political parties, but also a choice of the nation's future direction and path. The DPP, in complete control of the government, is completely destroying the constitutional system of the Republic of China, tightly grasping and manipulating executive ministries and independent government agencies, gradually reining in the Examination Yuan and Control Yuan, with only the Judicial Yuan still struggling to insist on the last line of defense. In order to reconstruct the benign operations of the parliament, developing legislative and oversight functions, returning to the spirit of separation of powers and checks and balances, eradicating the DPP's majoritarian tyranny is the only route and the joint responsibility of the electorate.

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