Pushing for transparency and accountability in the legislature is a slow process riddled with frustrations, as Citizen Congress Watch knows all too well.
On the first day of online access to the legislature’s video-on-demand system on Friday, the camera was aimed away from a ruckus on the legislative floor and the sound was muted in what seemed like a bad joke. The punchline? Public access to a video feed that is intended to pressure lawmakers into improving their performance will be censored so that they can continue their buffoonery.
Democratic Progressive Party legislators were blocking Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) from presenting an administrative report, while Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators surrounded Liu to shield him. It was the kind of scene that has embarrassed Taiwan too often and cast doubt on the professionalism of its lawmakers.
Citizen Congress Watch had long campaigned for full public access to the legislature’s video feed, which could previously only be viewed in the legislative building. On Friday, it held a ceremony at the legislature to thank those lawmakers whose support made the online live feed and video archive possible.
But from the system’s first day, the group began receiving complaints about the footage being censored, after which it emerged that such scenes will continue to be blocked.
The legislature defended its decision, which the Information Technology Department said had been reached by lawmakers across party lines. The reason for the censorship? To protect the legislature’s image, the department said. The legislature is evidently fully aware that its occasional scuffles warrant disdain.
Citizen Congress Watch said it had known that censorship could take place, as some legislators had opposed online access to the video feed unless controversial scenes were blocked. The outcry in response to the missing scenes heartened the civic group, however, as it hopes public pressure will force the Legislative Yuan to take the next step: uncensored footage.
That some legislators think controversial events should be withheld from the public reflects an undemocratic attitude that is incompatible with holding an elected office. These lawmakers should come forth and explain why the public is not entitled to see them at their worst. Whether legislators are reviewing a bill or throwing shoes and pulling hair, they are doing so on public time and taxpayers are footing the bill.
Despite rhetoric from the two main caucuses about the need to deepen the nation’s democracy and transparency, it seems many lawmakers remain determined not to have their performance scrutinized. That is a lesson Citizen Congress Watch has learned the hard way.
Earlier this month, the group’s executive director, Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳), was questioned by prosecutors in a lawsuit filed by KMT Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆). After Tsai received poor marks in the civic group’s assessment of legislators last August, he accused Ho and the group’s chairman, Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華), of slander. Ho and Ku have also been sued by KMT legislators Chen Ken-te (陳根德) and Chiu Yi (邱毅), while KMT Legislator Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和) said he would seek to have the group banned from the legislature. Chiu later withdrew his lawsuit, while Chen’s lawsuit was unsuccessful.
Citizen Congress Watch’s efforts to demand professionalism, competence, accountability and transparency from the legislature are to be applauded. That some lawmakers so vehemently oppose its work proves the need for these efforts.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations