Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
This demand that politicians in a rival political party uphold legislative and administrative neutrality is self-righteous in the extreme.
If the DPP's logic in demanding that Wang quit his job as KMT vice chairman is correct, the Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲), Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) should all quit their jobs as DPP chairmen and Central Standing Committee mem-bers for the sake of administrative neutrality. Otherwise, the ruling party's differing standards amount to nothing more than political hypocrisy.
In fact, if it is correct to say that democratic politics means party politics, legislative and administrative neutrality are not neutral at all. Hence, "party factors" -- including the ideology and interests of a party -- are certainly factors in both legislative and administrative operations. This is the practice, not just the theory, of party politics.
Moreover, the head of the legislature usually plays multiple roles, serving simultaneously as a representative of his constituents, as chairman and highest administrator of the legislature and as a party representative. Whoever is elected speaker must also play the role of an important party leader. It is absolutely impossible for the speaker to make a clean break with his or her party.
A legislative speaker's role as a party leader comes to the fore especially when legislative and administrative power are controlled by different parties. When US President Bill Clinton was in office, then speaker of the House Newt Gingrich used the Congress as a revolutionary base from which the Republicans would regain their lost territory. He pursued Republican interests exclusively and always put his role as a party leader before that of House speaker.
Today, Wang is the most powerful KMT politician to have been elected by the people. He was reelected as a legislator and as speaker after being nominated by the KMT. His role as a party leader inside the Legislative Yuan would naturally continue to develop even if he was not a vice chairman of the KMT. It is ridiculous for the DPP to question Wang's neutrality due to his support for the KMT's opposition to the veto, or to demand that a clear line be drawn between the speaker and his party.
The easiest, indeed, the only way to examine whether a legislative speaker is neutral is to examine his or her words and deeds inside the legislature. The speaker is neutral if he or she follows legislative regulations; the speaker is partial if he or she does not.
As for Wang's personal voting preferences, remarks made outside the legislature, or even opinions given during inter-party negotiations -- should not be taken as determinants of his neutrality. For DPP legislators to treat them as such is simply to make trouble out of nothing.
The late Chinese philosopher and essayist Hu Shih (
Wang Chien-chuang is president of The Journalist magazine.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath