Legislative Speaker 
Han Kuo-yu accused the Executive Yuan on August 27 of "weaponizing" refusals to countersign laws, and the Cabinet replied that it had withheld its signature on only 8 of 209 bills. Han spoke at the last plenary sitting of a session that opened on February 24 and was extended to August 31, telling lawmakers that 95 major bills had been passed or handled, CNA reported.
What did Han say? Han said that under the constitution the Executive Yuan answers to the Legislative Yuan, which has the power to oversee it. In recent years, he said, the Cabinet had used refusals to countersign against bills passed on third reading, "weaponizing" non-countersignature, distorting constitutional norms, hollowing out the reconsideration system through which the executive answers to the legislature and undermining the constitutional order. He said he was deeply worried and regretful, and urged the Cabinet to communicate sincerely with the party caucuses. Premier Cho Jung-tai had come to the legislature in person earlier in the day, and Han asked him to remember the responsibility the public had entrusted to him and to help safeguard hard-won democratic constitutional gains.
How did the Cabinet respond? Executive Yuan spokesperson Lee Hui-chih, in remarks to a media messaging group reported by CNA, said Article 37 of the constitution requires the premier's countersignature when the president promulgates laws, and called that power a "shield" for guarding constitutional order. Since Cho took office, she said, the Cabinet had countersigned 201 laws through August and declined 8 it judged damaging to constitutional order, 3.8% of the 209 bills passed in that period, which she described as passive defence. Neither branch should cross constitutional lines or reduce constitutional mechanisms to tools of political combat, Lee said, adding that the Cabinet hoped the legislature would respect its powers in the new session.
What legislation did the session produce? At the final sitting, lawmakers gave third reading to a statute on defence autonomy and the unmanned-vehicle industry, which names the Ministry of Economic Affairs as the competent authority but hands defence and military procurement to the Ministry of National Defense, along with amendments to the Industrial Innovation Act. Other laws from the session that Han listed included a special act on procurement to strengthen asymmetric capabilities and traffic amendments raising penalties for drugged driving. Legislators report for the sixth session on September 1 and 2.
Figures referenced: Han Kuo-yu. — JudgeMarket.
