TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The legislature convened on Tuesday (May 21), revisiting controversial legislation that has been packaged as “legislative reform” but, upon closer inspection, dramatically expands the powers of the lawmaking body.

The amendments are threefold: requiring the president to make an annual “State of the Nation” address in the legislature and face a question-and-answer session; strengthening investigative rights of the legislature; and increasing penalties for those found in contempt of the legislature, per CNA.

With the aid of Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) spearheading the legislative agenda and a Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) coalition holding a majority, amendments have been fast-tracked to the floor of the legislature for a vote. This led to noisy, pitched battles on the first day of the new legislature on Friday (May 17).

The DPP has alleged that the amendments are being voted upon without appropriate review, and partisanship has sped up due process. Furthermore, the DPP has asked the Constitutional Court to review amendments before a legislative vote can be held.

The KMT alleged DPP legislators used delay tactics such as motions for adjournment, which disrupted the reading of articles in committee sessions. For this reason, all provisions of the amendments remained intact and moved to the next step of deliberation: government and opposition party consultation.

One of the contested amendments is the State of the Nation address, requiring a presidential report to be submitted to the legislature before Feb. 1 each year and an in-person appearance before March 1. New presidents would also need to submit a report within two weeks of taking office and a visit to the legislature within one month of office. The president would also be required to participate in a question-and-answer session.

Another legislative reform proposal the KMT is backing is a “contempt of Congress” clause, an amendment to Criminal Code 141, stipulating that civil servants who make false statements about important matters during legislative hearings or inquiries shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year, criminal detention, or a fine less than NT$200,000 (US$6,200).

The third area of legislative reform includes an expansion of legislative oversight through committee resolutions allowing for the creation of investigative task forces to interrogate and review legal persons, organizations, or private entities. Failure to comply can result in a fine of not less than NT$10,000 but not more than NT$100,000.

The KMT has repeatedly said all legislative amendments will go through the requisite committee meetings, government and opposition consultations, and three public hearings before being passed into law. In opposition, the DPP has pointed to numerous areas where legislative review and procedural handling of amendments have been improperly executed, leading to the current stalemate in the legislature.