The legislature has passed all Kuomintang-led amendments to major laws following days of physical clashes among lawmakers and demonstrations on the streets.
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00:00Conflict in the legislature leading deep into the night.
00:06Speaker Han Kuo-yu approves a third revision to Taiwan's laws.
00:12A clean sweep for the main opposition party, the Kuomintang, who put forward three amendment
00:18bills which have dominated recent legislative discussions and reignited physical fights
00:23with the ruling party that's included taped off doors and broken windows.
00:31The amendments, now laws, cleared by the opposition-led chamber, including the Taiwan People's Party,
00:37will make it more difficult for voters to recall elected officials, requiring ID on
00:43top of signatures.
00:44It will redistribute taxpayer money by giving a larger share to local governments.
00:50And it will raise the threshold for constitutional court rulings, mandating 10 justices hear
00:56a case.
00:57It's a result the ruling Democratic Progressive Party warn as damaging to Taiwanese democracy.
01:03After yesterday's legislative vote, the Chinese government's system has changed.
01:09In terms of constitution, the five-council system is broken.
01:15The central and local governments are broken.
01:18The DPP has also taken issue with the way the opposition has passed the bills, a stance
01:24that has drawn demonstrations, with people turning out by the thousands across multiple
01:29days of protests.
01:34Some warning of possible influence from authoritarian China on the Kuomintang.
01:39Posting to social media, President Lai Ching-teh said the rulings were forcibly passed and
01:45have deprived the rights of the Taiwanese people.
01:48In an earlier post, the KMT said it is the one protecting democracy, pointing to the
01:54DPP's behavior as the obstruction of justice.
01:58They say DPP lawmakers repeatedly refused to engage in earlier discussions, stalling
02:04sessions to block the bills from passing.
02:07Now that the bills have passed, they will be sent to President Lai to be signed into
02:12law within 10 days.
02:14If he does not agree to it, he can file for a constitutional interpretation, a move that
02:20could cause more trouble, as the parties are also locked in a fight over the constitutional
02:25court on nominating new justices, another battle in an ongoing war between Taiwan's
02:31political parties in multiple arenas.
02:34Joseph Wu and Joyce Tsen for Taiwan Plus.