FRIEND OR ENEMY?Differing views over labor amendments have sparked questions about loyalty, with an NPP official saying the DPP was beginning to act like the KMT
Taipei Times
Date: Dec 09, 2016
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
Tensions appear to have intensified between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and New Power
New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang, right, and caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming, second right, react to the passing of controversial amendments to the Labor Standards Act at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday. Photo: CNA
Party (NPP) legislators after a DPP caucus official reportedly called for a review of the parties’ relationship following disputes over amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) that were passed on Tuesday.
“In the end our efforts [to halt amendments] were not enough, but we only owe an apology to workers, not the ruling party,” NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said. “Over the past two days, I have seen actions that look similar to the way the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) used to treat the DPP, but I will not allow us [the NPP] to be reduced to a supporting escort for DPP legislation because of it.”
While the ruling party and the social movement-rooted NPP are viewed as allies in the “pan-green” political camp, tensions between the two parties emerged in July when NPP legislators occupied the convener’s podium of the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee prior to a review of the proposed labor amendments. [FULL STORY]
