The Legislative Yuan on Wednesday began a three-week extra session to discuss two budget plans, constitutional reform, and other bills that aim to address issues such as drunk driving and a proposed Hsinchu City-Hsinchu County merger.
The special session, which will last through Jan. 28, began Wednesday afternoon after it was pushed through by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on a 60-to-35 vote earlier the same day.
The DPP also used its majority to pass its proposed agenda for the special session by a 57-39 margin while rejecting other agendas submitted by the three opposition parties.
The extra session was being held primarily because the Legislature did not complete its review and passage of two budget plans by the end of its regular session on Dec. 31.
Lawmakers will review the NT$2.2391 trillion (US$80.14 billion) central government general budget plan, which was proposed at the end of August 2021, and a special budget of NT$237.3 billion (US$8.6 billion) for the procurement of weapons systems.
Members of different parties agreed to discuss the budget plans in an extra session, but other issues are also on the agenda, including constitutional reform.
At the meeting earlier the same day, DPP lawmaker Liu Shyh-fang (???) said the Legislature had received 75 constitutional amendment bills, including 42 introduced by the DPP and 26 sponsored by the Kuomintang (KMT).
She argued it was very important for the Legislature to proceed with constitutional reform, especially revisions that she said had support across party lines, mentioning in particular an amendment that would lower the voting age in Taiwan from 20 to 18.
Liu said the DPP hoped the amendment could clear the Legislature during the special session so that it can be put to a vote in a referendum.
Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (???) has previously said constitutional amendments must be approved by the Legislature by the end of March for a referendum on those amendments to be held on the same day as local government elections scheduled for November.
Other amendments that the lawmaking body’s Constitutional Amendment Committee may review include the abolition of both the Examination Yuan and Control Yuan, the lowering of the threshold for future constitutional revisions, and a transition to a parliamentarian system.
The ad-hoc committee, which was formed in 2020, held its first general meeting in May 2020, but its members have yet to decide what issues should be discussed first.
Taiwan last made constitutional amendments to the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 2005.
High thresholds have been set for revising the Constitution. Amendments must first clear the Legislature with the approval of at least three quarters of the lawmakers present at a meeting attended by at least three quarters of all the lawmakers.
Based on the current distribution of seats in the 113-seat Legislature, where the DPP holds 60 seats and the main opposition KMT holds 39, it would take cooperation between the two main parties for any constitutional amendment to clear the body.
Even if an amendment is approved by lawmakers, it must then be voted on in a national referendum and can only pass if half of all eligible voters cast ballots in favor of its passage.
In its proposed agenda for the special legislative session, the KMT also planned to include constitutional reform in the session, but it requested that at least five public hearings be held first before lawmakers review any measures.
The hearings would help generate consensus over the various constitutional amendments, KMT lawmaker Chen Yu-jen (???) argued during the meeting Wednesday morning, stressing that her party supported an amendment seeking to lower the voting age.
Chiu Chen-yuan (???), a legislator of the Taiwan People’s Party, said there was a sense of urgency for the Legislature to make some progress in pushing for constitutional reform.
The TPP backs the amendment to lower the voting age, he said, describing the legislation as a task of historic impact for incumbent lawmakers.
Beyond constitutional amendments, the session could also screen amendments to the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces and the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act that seek to impose harsher punishments on individuals convicted of driving while drunk.
A bill related to an amendment to the Local Government Act that would pave the way for a Hsinchu City-Hsinchu County merger and its upgrade to a special municipality is also on the agenda despite the objections of opposition figures, who see it as an attempted power grab by the DPP.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel