Almost halfway through the year, the legislature still has not passed the government's annual budget. Budget discussions should have been completed by Dec. 31 so that the central and local governments could cover their expenditures. Without a budget, government activity is restricted and it makes one wonder how it could work to the benefit of the nation.
Such a strange situation, a rarity among responsible governments, should be an embarrassment for politicians. The legislature passed a supplementary resolution to permit the government to continue spending, allowing the central and local governments to continue paying civil servants and operate normally. But all construction projects have been halted, needlessly delaying development.
The legislature's temporary measure may have prevented a full-blown budget crisis, but it has also obscured the severity of the problem and allowed it to draw out longer. Reviewing the budget is one of the raisons d'etre of the legislature. Budget review is not only a right but also an obligation, and the legislature should not attach the budget bill to any other draft bill.
However, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has forced the legislature to review its proposed -- possibly unconstitutional -- amendment to the Organic Law of the Central Election Commission (
The pan-blue camp, which has refused to pass a special budget for the US arms procurement package, now wants it put in the annual budget. Therefore, it, too, remains frozen in the legislature. Taiwan's efforts to update its military have been stalled, and friends like the US have begun to doubt whether Taiwan has the resolve to defend itself and whether it is sincere as an ally. This has been a setback for Taiwan's security and foreign relations.
With corruption scandals hitting both opposition and ruling parties, all politicians say they want clean government. Yet the Control Yuan, which is charged with investigating such scandals, has been inactive for more than two years. The pan-blues complained that the original list of Control Yuan nominees was biased. Now President Chen Shui-bian (
In August, the terms of the grand justices will expire, leading to a similar void in the Judicial Yuan. One more branch of government will likely start collecting dust.
The nation's growing constitutional tensions are worsening. Yet politicians are reluctant to fix them, choosing to turn a blind eye instead. Every day of inaction seems to sap more of their motivation. When the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) boycotted legislative debates while in opposition, it still had to think carefully and offer a theoretical basis for its actions. But today's opposition parties pay no heed to legality or decorum. They take pride in halting the normal functioning of the government.
Tolerating an unreasonable boycott such that it becomes a normal state of affairs is surely a step back for the nation's development. The DPP government is getting a taste of dealing with an opposition-controlled legislature and paralyzed governance. But if the pan-blue camp lets such a model for interaction become the standard, it might have an unpleasant surprise if it takes back power one day. It may find itself dealing with a party that has studied well the pan-blue camp's obstructionist tactics.
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