The News Lens
Date: 2017/12/18
By: David Green

The pace of change in the legislative yuan is breathtaking and illustrative of a vibrant young

Photo Credit: AP/達志影像

democracy, but changes to referendum laws open a Pandora’s box.

The UK and Taiwan are remarkably similar. Both are islands currently estranged from the massive trading blocs just visible across the water from their coasts. Both have issues with immigration, the former having voted for Brexit amid an atmosphere of toxic anti-immigration sentiment stoked by the UK Independence Party and their adherents, the latter struggling to attract global talent to counter a massive and paralyzing brain drain. Both are fond of seeing in the evening with a pot of tea. And both are vibrant democracies.

There is though a marked difference in the pace with which the pair are enacting legislation. The deeply divided government of UK Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to deal with the overwhelming legislative and bureaucratic avalanche that is Brexit, not least the business dictated by the Great Repeal Bill that will see the UK place about 1,000 European Union laws on its books via statutory instrument.    [FULL  STORY]