Lawmakers apparently think that verbal and physical altercations are just part of the democratic process, a line of argument that is strikingly similar to the excuses used by looters in England this week — that voicing discontent through ransacking, trashing and arson was the only way they could make sure their voices were heard by a government they claimed had disenfranchised them.
Legislators became miffed after discovering that they were included in a Foreign Policy article last month that placed much of the blame for woes in Taiwan, the US, Belgium, Iraq, Japan and Afghanistan on legislative gridlock caused by partisanship and personal vanity.
It took author Cameron Abadi just three pithy paragraphs in “Parliamentary Funk” to sum up what ails Taiwan: It has a system designed to produce a divided government, hyper-partisanship ensures the pan-blue and pan-green camps despise one another, fistfights are valued more than cooperation and too often major global problems that impact Taiwan are ignored in favor of color-centric domestic squabbles.
Abadi deserves praise, not just for being spot on, but for managing to get blue and green lawmakers to unite for a few minutes.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) dismissed Abadi and his article as outdated, saying that the last brawl was three years ago during the review of certain “highly controversial political” issues.
The reconciliation of differences was part of the democratic process, he said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) called the article hurtful and humiliating, and criticized it for dragging up the past.
Apparently more than a few heads have been rattled by the physical exertion required of lawmakers, as short-term memory loss appears to be rampant.
It was just over a year ago — on July 8 — that two legislators ended up needing medical attention after a full-scale brawl over how the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) should be reviewed.
From the start of that day’s session there was turmoil, as lawmakers shoved and hit each other, and threw trashcans and teacups. DPP Legislator Kuo Wen-chen (郭玟成) broke a rib falling off the speaker’s podium during a scuffle, while Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) needed eight stitches after being hit by a projectile.
The cause of the conflict? The DPP had wanted the legislature to be able to execute its constitutional duty and review the ECFA article by article, while the KMT wanted nothing more than a cursory look to give the appearance of legislative oversight.
It was as choreographed as a Jets and Sharks face-off in West Side Story.
The KMT accuses the DPP of “minority bullying,” while the DPP decries the KMT’s use of its majority to run roughshod over the legislative process.
The truth is that many lawmakers consider such theatrics more appealing than monotonous day-to-day minutia and reasoned discussion. In addition, when was the last time a political issue in Taiwan was not considered “highly controversial”?
Just as many of those arrested during the mayhem in English cities have not been under-educated, unemployed youngsters from the under-class, but habitual thieves, blue-collar workers, college students and children, the dysfunction at the heart of the legislature remains the blue-green divide.
In 2005 it was hoped that cutting the number of legislators in half would help to counter rabid partisanship, that having fewer, more accountable lawmakers would increase the possibility of a more responsible body and the development of a new centrist viewpoint.
Unfortunately, partisanship continues to flourish and differences remain seemingly irreconcilable as the nation’s elected representatives perfect their fiddling as Taiwan burns.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry