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DPP must push for reform in legislature

THANKS TO THE adoption of a new electoral system -- the single-member district, two-vote system -- the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won nearly three-fourths of the legislative seats in the Jan. 12 elections, giving the party the ability to control the legislative agenda. This will have a far reaching impact on the legislative climate.

First, the halving of the number of legislative seats from 225 to 113 that comes into effect when the new legislature convenes on Feb. 25 will further expand legislative power.

The KMT will undoubtedly be resistant to changing any rules that benefit the party. If KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) were to win in the March 22 election, the fact that the KMT holds more or less the same majority in the legislature that it had during the presidency of Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) would mean that the president would have almost unlimited power, stripping the country of the balance of power that should exist in a democracy and making it wholly dependent on the KMT to voluntarily exercise caution.

Second, the fact that voters were unwilling to split their two votes between parties has resulted in a further "localization" of legislators.

In the larger districts under the old system, a diverse multitude of legislators were elected, while the single-member district system has created a stronger connection between legislators and local districts. This and the reduction of legislative seats means that legislators will likely focus more on grassroots issues. However, there is cause for concern over legislative quality and the compromises and conflicts of interest that stronger local ties could lead to.

Third, the KMT's large legislative majority does not imply that conflict between the two camps will be reduced.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), with its 27 seats, can still paralyze the legislature. Issues such as the opening of the three direct links and signing a peace and coexistence pact with China may heighten conflict in the legislature. Unless the DPP can persuade deep-green legislators to back off, such issues could easily result in a stand-off. And the KMT, with its large majority, could easily launch larger and stronger counterattacks than it had in the past.

If the KMT gets control of both the Cabinet and the legislature, the legislature could become a KMT rubber stamp. Since the party tends to be more conservative when it comes to social welfare and tax reform issues and given its solid ties to business, it is difficult for more idealistic politicians to find acceptance in the party. Neither is the party known for working closely with environmental, women's rights and nongovernmental organizations. This could mean that the DPP may have to once again work together with these social organizations to monitor the KMT by building public pressure.

What could be done to deal with the legislative chaos that could result from the KMT's large majority?

First, the DPP should be active in proposing legislation to reform the legislature and amend the shortcomings resulting from one party holding a huge majority. These include the Lobby Act (遊說法) and the Political Donation Act (政治獻金法), or opening the legislative agenda to the public and making party negotiations more transparent to better monitor the KMT.

And second, more efforts should be directed at pursuing constitutional amendments to change unreasonable components of the electoral system. The only chance for legislative reform is for the DPP to become a catalyst for constitutional amendment.

Li Ming-juinn is the deputy secretary-general of Taiwan Society.

TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON
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