The most recent session of the Legislative Yuan closed last Wednesday with the poorest performance record in recent years. The legislature passed only 42 bills during the entire session, which began in February. More than 100 bills are still waiting for review. Among them are some important measures aimed at boosting the sagging economy, including six financial bills.
Salvaging the economy is a crucial issue for Taiwan and the legislature's failure to review the financial measures has not only unnerved the ruling party but also infuriated business circles and the general public alike.
The Executive Yuan immediately asked the legislature to convene an extraordinary session and work on the remaining bills in order to avoid delays in implementing financial reforms and improve Taiwan's investment environment. The DPP caucus also started a signature drive for an extraordinary session. But Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The problem is -- no surprise here -- that both the ruling and opposition parties have axes to grind. The DPP caucus is afraid that the opposition alliance would reject Chen's formal request, thereby trampling upon the president's dignity -- not an unreasonable fear given the opposition's record of trying to block any action by the president, even if it is something it demanded in the first place.
The opposition alliance cites precedence -- the four previous special sessions were convened at the president's request. Apparently, the opposition also thinks the legislature will be admitting to its own dereliction of duty if the legislators themselves initiate a proposal for a special session. It also thinks the session should not simply focus on the bills that the executive branch wants passed.
According to the Constitution, the legislature can convene a special session if (a) the president requests it, or (b) more than one-fourth of the legislators support it. The former option appears to be a better choice at present because it will enable the president to set the objectives for the session -- to review time-sensitive financial and economic bills, for example. This will also prevent opposition lawmakers from burdening financial bills with their favorite pork-barrel projects and blackmailing the ruling party.
Since the purpose of the extraordinary session is to pass time-sensitive financial bills, the sooner it is convened, the better. It would be best held by the end of this month, or early July at the latest. The session should be as short and as intensive as possible, preferably two or three days. This will prevent lawmakers from using the occasion for grandstanding, as well as limiting further political and social instability.
A penitential attitude would be appropriate among legislators as they begin the extraordinary session. After all, the purpose of the session is make up for their own lapses. They should also do the necessary homework on the bills before the session starts -- and there had better not even be so much as a whisper about getting overtime pay.
The ruling and opposition caucuses should also hold internal negotiations before the session on what bills should be prioritized, as well as what their contents should be. The different caucuses should also negotiate and reach agreements between themselves in advance. The people of Taiwan would be loathe to see a repeat of lawmakers loitering in the halls while their caucus leaders negotiate behind closed doors.
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