TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Legislative Yuan has decided on Tuesday (Dec. 12) to suspend its plenary and committee meetings from Dec. 20 to Dec. 31 to prepare for the 2024 presidential and legislative elections.
An additional session will be held on Dec. 18, which will be considered as part of the same meeting period as Dec. 15 and Dec. 19.
This decision follows a proposal by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Caucus and is in line with the parliamentary tradition of pausing meetings during the election period.
Such a precedent was set during the legislative elections of the 7th, 8th, and 9th terms when sessions were suspended for three weeks.
The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Caucus, led by Chiu Chen-yuan, along with the New Power Party (NPP) Caucus, led by Chiu Hsien-chih, opposed the suspension proposal. They submitted an amendment, but it was not accepted.
Vice President of the Legislative Yuan, Tsai Chi-Chang, announced the passage of the DPP's proposal. Meanwhile, Tseng Ming-chung, leader of the Kuomintang (KMT) caucus, argued that a consensus should be reached through negotiation before arranging a recess, opposing the resolution's forceful passage.
DPP Caucus Director-General Ker Chien-ming cited a 30-year-old tradition of recessing before elections, as well as prior inter-party consultations more than a month ago, and emphasized that the decision only brings forward the suspension by 11 days.