Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Fu Kun-chi/Facebook
RECENT ACTIONS by the KMT aim to make it more difficult for the DPP to declare martial law in the event of war. This is the latest in actions by the KMT intended to hollow out wartime legislation in Taiwan, then, such as with regard to efforts to undercut the Civil Defense Act.
The KMT would be leveraging on the public fallout after South Korean President Yoon Suk-seol declared martial law in early December in what appears to have been a failed attempt at a military coup. This attempt was unsuccessful and quickly overturned after a few hours, following a vote by the South Korean legislature.
Namely, South Korean law allows the legislature to overturn martial law declarations by the president if voted down by the legislature. Questioning of military officials since the declaration of martial law seems to suggest that Yoon intended for arrests of opposition politicians to take place so as to prevent such a vote, but that the military refused to carry this out, or otherwise acted ineffectively.
Nevertheless, there was a great deal of public backlash against the DPP after a post on social media that initially supported Yoon’s declaration of martial law, echoing Yoon’s claim that he had made the declaration to counter the influence of North Korea on the legislature and stating that Taiwan could also see similar measures one day because it faces threats from China. The post was quickly deleted and replaced with a statement emphasizing that it was the KMT that had declared martial law, resulting in many painful decades of political persecution. Taiwan was the country in the world that had experienced the world’s longest period of martial law until 2001, when the record was broken by Syria.
The KMT has since leveraged on fallout to accuse the DPP of having a “martial law mentality” This has been alleged of suggestions by the Mainland Affairs Council that it may not allow student exchanges by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation in the future, if they continue to be used as political stunts for United Front activity.
KMT legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin, who has taken the lead on advancing proposals intended to undercut civil defense legislation. Photo credit: Hsu Chiao-hsin/Facebook
Yet the KMT has also sought to make it more difficult for the DPP to declare martial law in the event of war. Current regulations specify that the president must submit a declaration of martial law to the legislature for approval within one month and if the legislature is not in session, ratification can take place after reconvening. A proposal by the KMT calls for shortening this period to 24 hours and specifying an even shorter time limit of eight hours for martial law to be approved by the legislature.
The KMT’s proposal is ironic, in that this proves the opposite scenario to South Korea. It has proven difficult to impeach President Yoon over his attempted coup because impeachment proposals have a designated time limit and Yoon’s People Power Party has stonewalled proceedings.
As time drags on and public pressure on the PPP builds, PPP politicians have increasingly demonstrated a willingness to participate in impeachment votes.
The KMT is likely hoping to accomplish the opposite to South Korea. Firstly, it is important to remember that KMT politicians–who sometimes have evidenced direct links to the Chinese government–would be at risk during martial law because they might act as a fifth column on behalf of China.
Secondly, if the ratification period for declarations of martial law is merely 24 hours, this makes it easier for KMT politicians to stonewall such a vote and prevent it from happening. A longer period for voting, in fact, would likely result in significant pressure on KMT politicians to return and participate in such a vote if this occurs during wartime.
The KMT has already taken aim at emergency powers for wartime, as observed in how it has attempted to exempt those under 20 from participation in civil defense legislation. The KMT has claimed that this is for the sake of preventing child soldiers during wartime. But the KMT more broadly hopes to undercut any kind of emergency wartime powers, so as to undermine war efforts. So, too, with provisions for martial law. In this light, it seems likely that the party that maintained the longest martial law period in Taiwan will lean into criticisms framing the DPP as seeking to enact martial law in Taiwan in order to try and undercut emergency wartime powers, going forward.