President warns of legislative overreach; KMT cries hypocrisy

Hsinchu, June 29 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Sunday warned against what he called legislative overreach and invoked Nobel laureate Jane Addams' call for "more democracy" to defend Taiwan's constitutional order -- a message the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) dismissed as hypocritical, accusing Lai of reversing course on reforms once championed by his own party.

Delivering the third of his "10 Talks on the Country" in Hsinchu, Lai criticized recent efforts by the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan to expand its oversight powers.

He said the passage of an amendment to the Law Governing the Legislative Yuan's Power, for example, represents a serious violation of constitutional principles, with some provisions ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court last year.

Lai, a former legislator of 12 years, said he has never seen a bill passed by the Legislative Yuan declared unconstitutional and infringing on so many branches of government, calling it "a first in Taiwan's history."

Taiwan's constitutional structure is built on a five-branch system, Lai said, adding that legislative overreach undermines the separation of powers and weakens democratic governance.

Referring to recent civic movements -- including the 2024 Bluebird protests and the ongoing 2025 recall campaign -- Lai said these citizen-led actions aim to restore constitutional order and defend Taiwan from authoritarian threats, particularly from China.

He emphasized that the movements are spontaneous and not driven by any political party.

"Within Taiwanese society lies a deeply valuable civic force that emerges in times of crisis or need," he said, citing the Wild Lily, Wild Strawberry and Sunflower movements as examples of citizen-led efforts to defend democracy at key moments in history.

As president and "guardian of the Constitution," Lai called for mutual respect among government institutions, a return to constitutional norms and continued civic participation to safeguard Taiwan's democracy for future generations.

However, the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) caucus accused the president of applying double standards in response.

In a statement, the KMT caucus said many of the amendments Lai criticized had long been part of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) platform, but once in power, the DPP reversed course, challenging or vetoing them.

"The only reason for this is that these reforms strengthen government oversight, empower local authorities and enhance civil rights -- which weakens the DPP's control," the KMT said.

The KMT also questioned Lai's portrayal of the recall campaigns as purely spontaneous, citing reports that DPP officials and even the president himself have been meeting with recall campaign leaders.

The public does not want a government that divides society and abuses state resources to wage political recalls under the guise of civic action, the KMT said.