Lawmakers Vote on Slew of Controversial Bills on Last Day of Session
A set of controversial bills is being voted on by Taiwan's lawmakers on the final day of the current legislative session. Among them are plans to reform the country's media and communications regulator and a bill that makes it easier for foreigners and migrants, including from China, to settle in Taiwan. The opposition-majority legislature is expected to pass most of the proposals, many of which are opposed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
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00:00Lawmakers are voting on a large list of bills here in Taipei on the last day of this legislative session.
00:06Many have been submitted by the opposition Kuomintang, which holds the most seats in the
00:10legislature, but they're being opposed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
00:15Our reporter Rhys Ayres is live for us at the legislature.
00:18Rhys, what are some of the bills being voted on today and why are they controversial?
00:24Well, perhaps two of the most controversial bills that are being voted on
00:28are proposed reforms to Taiwan's media and communications regulator, that's the NCC,
00:34and the New Residents Act, and they're both put forward by the opposition KMT or Kuomintang.
00:41Now, put quite simply, that first one, the NCC reforms, would essentially change the way that
00:46the media regulators committee is selected. Now, the KMT are not very happy with the way that the
00:54current DPP-appointed committee has been dealing with things in the last few years. One of the
01:00most prominent issues was how they took the China-leaning TV station, Zhongtian Television,
01:07off the air. Now, the reforms would force committee members to resign at the end of their term,
01:14whether or not there was someone to replace them. Now, that could essentially leave Taiwan's media
01:19regulator a ship without a crew. Now, that second controversial one I mentioned there,
01:25which was the New Residents Act, that would make it easier for immigrants, overseas professionals,
01:32and foreign spouses to be able to call Taiwan their home. Now, that might sound like quite
01:38a progressive policy that the left-leaning DPP might want to get behind, but they actually
01:43oppose it, citing national security risks. And the bill would also make it easier for Chinese
01:51nationals to settle in Taiwan, and that's something the DPP is against. But with the KMT
01:58holding a majority in the legislature, and with backing from the third party, Taiwan People's
02:04Party, most, if not all, of these bills are looking likely to pass.
02:09And, Rhys, the legislature has been in session for several hours now.
02:14Do we have any results yet, and what's the feeling like there in the room?
02:21Well, there's been some protests and shouting and placard waving from the DPP,
02:26but there haven't been any fistfights breaking out, as we've seen several times in the past
02:31in the legislature. But there have been some decisions made regarding the NCC reforms,
02:38the media regulator reforms I mentioned. That bill has passed. It was very close. It was 52 votes
02:44to 51. But that does mean that the current DPP appointed committee will have to resign at the
02:50end of their term, whether or not there's someone to replace them. But decisions regarding other
02:56bills, including the new Residence Act, are still under discussion, as you can see behind me,
03:03though it's likely to pass because the joint opposition made up of the KMT and the TPP have
03:08the majority. This will be the last session for quite some time, so the KMT are likely to want
03:15to push through as many bills as they can today, which could lead this session going on into the
03:20evening hours.