The Taiwan High Court ruled on Thursday that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) must serve 30 days in jail for insulting Chinese Nationality Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華). That ruling — like the spat that sparked it — was an insult to this nation’s beleaguered voters.
Chiu could pay a fine in lieu of serving time, but she said she would rather be locked up to demonstrate how ridiculous the verdict was. She’s right, but not for the reasons she thinks.
The verdict was ridiculous because both Lee and Chiu’s lawsuits should have been tossed out the moment they were filed. Lawmakers suing each other for verbal or physical attacks in the legislature are simply grandstanding and wasting judicial resources.
Brawling Taiwanese lawmakers have been a frequent sight on TV news shows at home and around the world since the lifting of martial law. There is even a Daily Mail “greatest hits” link that brings together a collection of video clips of famous floor-clearing moments, some set to scores that range from the national anthem to The Benny Hill Show theme.
There are enough clips of our fighting lawmakers on YouTube to almost warrant their own channel.
It’s easy to poke fun at our elected representatives when they clash — the water, papers, shoes and other projectiles flying, the punching, kicking and hair (or toupee) pulling. These brawls have all the drama of World Wrestling Federation (WWF) bouts, minus the minuscule costumes, bulging pectorals and flowing hair. The posturing of the lawmakers is also about as realistic as that of the WWF behemoths.
Even when they are not brawling, the big character posters, the placards, the chanting and singing make footage of the legislature look cartoonish. If you’re going to stage a walkout, just do it; do not walk around waving signs before you go.
The verbal confrontations frequently seem to be throwbacks to childhood, as shown by the exchange between Chiu and Lee in April last year that led to the lawsuits. They got into a shouting match after Lee said Chiu should stop interrupting him and show some manners. He called her a shrew and dared her to hit him. Her hand then touched his face.
Name-calling is a fact of life, whether in childhood or politics. However, exchanges of “I dare you” and “‘you hit me,’ ‘did not,’ ‘did too,’” should be left on school playgrounds.
Yes, it is funny to watch our lawmakers duke it out. What is not funny is that all this posturing and brawling distracts the public from the fact that debate over serious issues is being ignored or squashed. Also being ignored is the concept that democracy is, to quote former US president Abraham Lincoln, “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
The KMT is not serving the people when it ignores suggestions or complaints from those who did not vote for it, when it steamrolls bills and resolutions through the legislature and when it shuts down debate.
Given the imbalance that has existed ever since the DPP first garnered enough votes to win some legislative seats, the KMT caucus is not going to lose a floor vote. That doesn’t mean the other side should not be heard.
However, the core problem goes deeper than just political rivalries. It can be traced back to an education system that values rote learning over independent thought, a system that teaches students how to memorize huge amounts of information, but does not teach them how to have a rational, informed debate.
Democracy is a tough form of government to get right. However, this nation has already experienced the alternative in the decades of KMT dictatorship, and it continues to live under threat from the communist dictatorship in Beiijing. The public must not allow its elected representatives to continue to make a mockery of themselves and this democracy.
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