Amendments to recall law pass preliminary legislative review in 3 minutes

Taipei, Dec. 16 (CNA) The draft amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act passed the preliminary review stage at a legislative committee in three minutes on Monday after ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers were locked outside the chamber.

At 9 a.m., committee convener Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) kicked off the meeting reviewing the amendments. Two minutes later, she declared that the preliminary review had been approved.

Hsu announced the conclusion of the meeting at 9:03 a.m.

Before the meeting started, KMT lawmakers had gathered outside the chamber, blocking one side of the hallway with chairs and sealing the door with tape. They used their bodies to block the other side.

DPP lawmakers, who arrived at 6 a.m., were unable to enter the meeting room, resulting in a verbal confrontation.

By 8 a.m. some KMT legislators, including Hsu, had entered the meeting room, while DPP lawmakers and legislative staff were still stuck outside. Several clashes ensued, but the DPP lawmakers were unable to sign in or attend the meeting.

The Internal Administration Committee eventually managed to review the amendment draft, which included a proposal by KMT Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) to add a provision that "a recall vote must have more votes than the official received when elected."

As of press time, there is no information on whether any DPP members were in the chamber when the review was passed.

At 9 a.m., Hsu called the meeting to order, reviewed the amendments to the Act, and moved directly into a line-by-line review of the draft. Several provisions were left for further cross-party negotiations before she wrapped up the meeting.