TAIPEI, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s global credibility is on the line and parliament should withdraw a series of laws the government opposes, President Lai Ching-te said amid a deepening dispute with the opposition, which has slammed him for ignoring the will of the people.
While Lai won the presidential election last year, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its parliamentary majority to the Kuomintang (KMT) and its much smaller ally the Taiwan People’s Party.
Since the DPP controls the presidency it also runs the government in Taiwan’s system, but the opposition has used its parliamentary majority to pass its own legislation and stymie government plans.
The current standoff between the government and the opposition stems from opposition-passed amendments last month to a revenue allocation law, which granted more funds to local governments.
Lai’s administration says that law, along with the reversing of pension reforms enacted in 2018, are fiscally unsustainable, and Premier Cho Jung-tai on Monday said he was refusing to enact the local government financing law.
In a video message posted to social media late on Monday, Lai said the laws should be withdrawn, and reiterated he was willing to go to parliament himself and speak to lawmakers.
“Dear fellow citizens, Taiwan is already a key hub of the global democratic camp; our stability affects the entire world. We cannot allow flawed laws to weaken Taiwan’s competitiveness, and we must not let the international community lose confidence in Taiwan,” he said.
The KMT and TPP say the government is acting dictatorially by refusing to enact the legislation and is trampling on the rule of law by ignoring the will of the democratically-elected parliament.
KMT spokesperson Niu Hsu-ting said the DPP had already failed electorally this year, pointing to recall elections over the summer against a swathe of KMT lawmakers pushed by civic groups but supported by the DPP and which did not remove a single KMT lawmaker from office.
“When ordinary citizens thought the ruling party might finally calm down and heed public sentiment, what they got instead was more of the same low-level tactics: spreading rumours, making baseless accusations, and resorting to emotional blackmail and divisive tactics,” he said.
The KMT has, however, so far held off on a vote of no confidence in the premier, which could lead to the fall of the government and possibly new parliamentary elections.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Chris Reese)
