Lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party are facing off once again with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in a bid to pass controversial reforms that would grant the legislature greater oversight over the government. The DPP says the changes have not been properly reviewed and is calling for the bills to be sent back to committee for further discussion.
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00:00 We begin in Taipei where tempers have flared in the legislature as opposition lawmakers
00:05 try to push through reforms. The ruling party says the proposed laws haven't been properly
00:11 discussed and may even be unconstitutional. Rick Glowatt is live for us at the legislature.
00:17 Rick, what's the atmosphere like there?
00:19 Well, it's definitely been a pretty rowdy morning here at Taiwan's legislature.
00:26 Both the ruling party, that's the Democratic Progressive Party, and Taiwan's main opposition
00:30 parties are digging into their positions. At times the legislature has looked a bit more
00:35 like a protest rally than a legislature. We've seen a lot of chanting, a lot of
00:39 shouting of slogans, banners, flags, but we haven't yet seen any of the violence that we
00:44 saw last week. That was of course on Friday when there was a lot of pushing and shoving.
00:48 One lawmaker was tackled to the ground and in fact six legislators ended up in hospital.
00:54 But with their majority in the parliament, the main opposition parties are slowly passing
00:59 these controversial reforms that they say are necessary to bring about greater accountability
01:05 of the government. The opponents of course saying that these bills go too far, they give too much
01:09 power and are too far reaching, and that opposition parties are not following due
01:13 process in the legislature and that full details are not being disclosed properly.
01:17 What does this all mean for the country now that there's a new president handling Taiwan's
01:24 challenges at home and abroad? And well these disputes hit at Taiwan's deep political
01:31 polarization where neither side trusts each other to play by the rules. Opponents of these
01:38 bills are saying that they could put Taiwan's very democracy in danger. The opposition with
01:43 their majority in the parliament are saying that they're simply doing the job that they were voted
01:47 in to do. It is of course the first full day in office for Taiwan's new president, Lai Ching-deh,
01:52 and the situation here in the parliament could become one of the greatest challenges of his time
01:57 in office. He's going to find it incredibly difficult to pass the bills he needs to make
02:01 good on his political promises, particularly when it comes to things like passing bills on
02:06 defense spending. In fact, Lai Ching-deh yesterday used parts of his inauguration speech
02:11 to call on both sides to play nice and follow due process in this legislature.