Tonight in front of the Legislative Yuan. The NT$2 trillion cited is the cost of Fu Kun-chi’s ludicrous infrastructure ask embedded in the KMT’s controversial bill.
Source: x.com
Guy
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Helen Davidson at the Guardian reports on today’s protest (ongoing this evening). Time Magazine had an article up about it too. It’s amazing how much more international attention Taiwan gets nowadays.
Guy
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Brian Hioe has also posted a report about today’s protests. Some details on what’s happening on the ground:
This rapid self-organization, a hallmark of occupation-style movements, was also reminiscent of the Sunflower Movement. Many of the speeches by speakers ranging from YouTuber Froggy Chiu to Taipei city councilor Miao Poya, reflected on how the KMT had learned little since the Sunflower Movement, and how the KMT still proved dangerous to Taiwanese sovereignty and sought to sell it out. Nymphia Wind, the first Taiwanese winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, also made an appearance. When DPP legislators appeared, they were cheered, even if other speakers emphasized this was not a rally in support of the DPP. Many speakers brought up Taiwan’s history of authoritarianism and political violence and today’s political freedoms were only won through struggle.
Speakers came from a number of backgrounds, including Hongkongers, new immigrants to Taiwan, and others. At one point, a trans activist spoke of how the KMT would block legislation supportive of gender and sexual equality if it controlled the legislature. When a series of Indigenous pastors spoke, they led the crowd in chanting slogans in a number of Indigenous languages.
Guy
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There was a massive surplus that could have been spent on a combination of defence and infrastructure. But it was given to people.
The KMT and TPP’s planned changes would be wide-sweeping. In particular, with the new powers granted to legislators, legislators could summon private individuals, government officials, and others for questioning. Those who refuse to comply could face up to three years in jail under criminal charges for contempt of the legislator and individuals could be asked to give up trade secrets, details of confidential negotiations by the government such as diplomatic agreements or arms deals, or other private information. Speaking back to government officials would not be allowed and could lead to a 200,000 NT fine.
It was feared that the new legal changes would be used by the KMT to target political opponents, in particular, by staging highly public show trials. To this extent, the KMT could seek to undermine the stable operations of government using such laws. The pan-Blue camp’s push for such laws takes place after KMT legislator Ma Wen-chun, named by the party to co-chair of the defense committee of the Legislative Yuan, was accused of leaking the confidential details of Taiwan’s domestic submarine program to China and South Korea, and after fellow KMT legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin leaked the confidential details of diplomatic agreements with Czechia, Lithuania, and Ukraine, to try and sink diplomatic cooperation.
Geezus fuck. They might as well rename themselves the Chinese Communist Party.
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Taiwan is spending 2.5% of its GDP on defense, including building supersonic missiles, state of the art stealth corvettes, and submarines, and purchasing whatever the US wants to get rid of. I mean, we are spending more than most NATO members. There is just no way Taiwan could out spend China on defense, thanks to the US and European decisions since the 80s.
As for infrastructure, no one at the protest is against spending on infrastructure, people are against reactionary spending on projects that have been pending because they will end up being giant money black holes that won’t be anymore reliable facing earthquakes like the ones we’ve just had in April.
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Protestors be damned! The unholy KMT / TPP alliance appears to be intent on pushing ahead with their controversial bill to give the LY greater investigative powers and the ability (they think) to criminalize persons inside and outside government they deem to be inadequately compliant to their demands.
As a mere lay man in Taiwan, when I eyeball these proposed powers it looks to me like they are treading on the turf of the Control Yuan (whose function is to monitor and deal with government employees and agencies deemed to be noncompliant) and even into some of the prosecutorial arms of the government (which are not administered under the LY).
I wonder what forumosans more familiar with the legal structure of the ROC think of this proposed legislation?
Guy
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I have not actually read this proposed bills, @afterspivak can you please link them by any chance?
I am relying on second hand sources.
@foc are you able to help us out?
Many thanks in advance to all.
Guy
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On such contentious things, I want to see the actual words before saying anything. I am seeing a very sad barrage from disgruntled folks on linkedin.
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And I am seeing many unhappy critical accounts of the KMT/TPP on twitter. Some of the unhappiness is being expressed by legal researchers at Academia Sinica, so at least it’s not all angry posts from accounts with IDs like “jon3784725” or something like that. 
Guy
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I was at the teahouse when it happened and the owner was showing it to me, he said something to the effect of it used to be a lot worse… So it seems this is accepted hooliganry
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That’s part of the protest. The proposed bills have not gone through article by article debate and instead went directly to party consultations, which became a rubber stamp for the secretive KMT and TPP consultation, and then they went ahead and passed the altered bills by raising of hands, without anyone actually not knowing what’s been passed.
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Hence very, very dangeous
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This sounds like it should be unconstitutional
I wonder if I can tease the KMT to make me be questioned by them so I can sue them under the law.
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Yes as a lay man eye balling the outlines (not the specifics) of what they are trying to do, it does look like this will be heading to the constitutional courts—I think this possibility was mentioned above by @Mataiou —if and when they pass this bill.
Guy
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According to a Huang Kuo-chang of the NPP party back in 2018, forcing bills through without going through the proper proceedings is unconstitutional.
時代力量立委黃國昌在判決出爐後表示，「整個服貿協議，踐踏我國民主憲政，強行闖關，318太陽花運動無罪，有罪的是馬政府和那時候違憲、違法，強行把服貿視為審查通過的張慶忠。」
The entire Service Trade Agreement, forcing it through the legislature, is trampling on our democratic constitution. The March 18 Sunflower movement is innocent, the Ma government and Zhang Qingzhong who unconstitutionally and illegally forced the Service Trade Agreement through as a mere deliberation are the guilty parties.
However, the guy currently responsible for forcing these bills through together with the KMT is a guy named Huang Guochang who is the TPP parliamentary leader.
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Well. I know who I am not voting for next election.
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What happened to this guy? He went from being a Sunflower supporter / participant to an apparently raving macho man collaborating with the KMT to help precipitate the largest student protests since 2014. 
Guy
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@OrangeOrganics used to talk about how, based on his experience and observations, the youth in Taiwan are disillusioned with eight years of DPP rule and thus were siding with the TPP.
I wonder if those disillusioned youth are regretting their choice now.
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