Political outlook turbulent for Taiwan after reform bills prompt brawls, protests

Taiwan is bracing for more political turbulence after its opposition-controlled legislature passed a series of bills to sharply curtail the powers of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The controversial move, which triggered furious brawls in the Legislative Yuan and fierce protests by thousands of DPP supporters earlier this month, has raised speculation that the DPP government might dissolve parliament to regain control.

Amid the turmoil, observers have warned of deepening division and a potential governance crisis.

The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which together hold the legislative majority, joined forces to push through the three contentious bills on December 20.

The bills relate to amendments to the election and recall law, constitutional court procedure law, as well as government funding allocations.

The election and recall law amendment raises the threshold for recalling elected officials, with petitioners now required to submit photocopies of ID cards to initiate the process. The KMT argues that this change prevents misuse or ID forgery but DPP lawmakers claim the revision violates constitutional rights and unnecessarily raises barriers to initiating recalls.