In this episode, we again report from Taipei on the growing protests against congressional reform legislation being pushed through Taiwan's parliament or Legislative Yuan by the China-friendly KMT or Kuomintang and the smaller Taiwan People's party or TPP.
In the previous episode of this podcast, we reported from the protests on Tuesday May 21st when an estimated 10 to 15 thousand protesters showed up to demonstrate about the disregard for procedural due process and the content of a new package of reform legislation which many feel would challenge the authority of newly elected DPP president, Lai Ching-te.
By midnight on Tuesday, the new legislation still lingered in the review process, so on Friday May 24th, the Legislature continued to debate the bills and the public returned to the streets around the parliament in Taipei. By 9:00pm organizers estimated that 100,000 people had come out to demonstrate against the package of new bills being pushed through Taiwan's parliament. According to local analysts, Taiwan hasn't seen protests of this size since the 2014 Sunflower Movement.
The speed and efficiency with which the protests were organized and managed was very impressive and although there was a large police presence, the protests were very peaceful, respectful and dignified.
These protests have also spread to other cities in Taiwan, with Friday night protests also happening concurrently in Taichung, Kaohsiung and Tainan.
More than 50 Civil Society Organization including the Taiwan Citizen Front, Taiwan Economic Democracy Union, the Referendum Protecting Taiwan Alliance and DoubleThink Lab have all objected to the proposed legislation package and are demanding that all bills be sent back to their respective committees for reconsideration.
Listeners may also be aware that on May 23rd and 24th, the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party, the People's Liberation Army or PLA, launched what they called "punishment drills" around Taiwan in response to the earlier inauguration of President Lai Ching-te. The drills are part of an escalating campaign of intimidation by China however, as you can hear from our interviewees, this wasn't foremost on their minds, nor did it feature in the protests.
We also want to let you know that in order to present a balanced report, we have been eager to hear from a KMT spokesperson to share their view on this legislation and the goings on in the parliament and we continue to reach out to the KMT for comment. However, they have not yet responded to our requests.
Ongoing discussion of these bills is expected to continue on Tuesday May 28th in parliament with more protests expected then. How it all pans out in the longer term is still unclear. There are some scenarios being speculated on in local media, and we've linked them below in the Dive Deeper section.
On Friday May 24th, we spoke to a cross section of the crowd to hear their perspectives including former Taipei City Councilor, Miao Poya (@miaopoya)
Date of Recording: May 24th, 2024
.jpg)
DIVE DEEPER:
Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:
- In Focus: How the Reform Bills are impacting the Legislature - Taipei Times (May 27th, 2024) link
- 100,000 Demonstrate in Taipei against Pan-Blue Camps' Power Grab - Brian Hioe, New Bloom Magazine (May 25th, 2024) link
- China warns of Taiwan 'war' as military drills encircle island - Agence France-Presse, VOA News (May 24th, 2024) - link
- Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement - wiki
