Wed, Apr 04, 2001 page1

• Committee recommends Lo be suspended

  ASSAULT INCIDENT The Legislative Yuan's Discipline Committee recommended Lo Fu-chu be suspended for six months for attacking a colleague, the first punishment it has meted out against a legislator

  • By Stephanie Low / STAFF REPORTER
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  The Legislative Yuan's Discipline Committee yesterday recommended that independent legislator Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) be suspended from duty for six months as punishment for assaulting People First Party Legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) on March 28.

  The punishment will need to be approved in the legislature by a two-thirds majority next Tuesday at the earliest.

  The punishment is the heaviest possible under the Legislators' Conduct Act (立法委員行為法). This is also the first case in which the Discipline Committee has meted out a punishment against a legislator. It is the 21st case to be sent to the committee since 1987.

  

  Members of the Legislative Yuan's Discipline Committee yesterday watch video footage of lawmaker Lo Fu-chu assaulting PFP Legislator Diane Lee. The committee decided unanimously to recommend Lo be suspended for six months as punishment for the assault.

  PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  "This incident marks a very important turning point in which the Legislative Yuan has set an example [for handling misconduct involving legislators] that will be helpful in preventing similar matters from happening again in the future. This will also allow the legislature to inspire faith that it is capable of handling its internal affairs," said KMT Legislator Chu Li-luan (朱立倫), a member of the Discipline Committee.

  The violent incident occurred on March 28, shortly before a meeting of the Education and Culture Committee, following a fierce quarrel between Lo and Lee. The entire course of events was filmed by a video camera installed in the meeting room and immediately generated extensive media coverage.

  Facing great public pressure, the legislature referred the case to the Discipline Committee on March 30 as soon as was possible, despite Lo's decision to stop participating in the legislature's activities for three months as a self-imposed punishment.

  The ad hoc Discipline Committee, whose members are the 36 conveners of the 12 standing committees in the legislature, was under close scrutiny from the media when it met to discuss the case yesterday.

  The KMT caucus, which is known to have maintained close links with Lo and controls 18 of the 36 seats in the Discipline Committee, took a tough stand and ordered all its members to attend the meeting to ensure that a quorum of one-third of members was present.

  All members were present, except for Lo himself, who is a convener of the Judiciary Committee, and three KMT legislators. These three were Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才), Lo's son and a convener of the Finance Committee; Tseng Tsai Mei-tso (曾蔡美佐), a convener of the Economic and Energy Committee, who was abroad; and Chou Wu-liu (周五六), another convener of the Economic and Energy Committee, who preferred not to attend.

  The attending Discipline Committee members adopted the punishment unanimously after around two hours of discussion, during which many members from the DPP cited Lo's past record of assaulting colleagues.

  "This record should be a reference for the committee to issue a punishment to Lo, who is a serial offender and deserves the severest punishment," said DPP Legislator Chien Hsi-chieh, a convener of the Finance Committee, who has alleged that he has been one of the victims.

  The DPP legislators considered yesterday's decision a necessary step to stop legislators being threatened in the exercise of their duties by colleagues with gangster backgrounds or connections.

  The DPP has said that around a dozen of its lawmakers have been assaulted by legislators with connections to gangsters, many of which have not taken place on public occasions. The DPP says that at least five have been carried out by Lo -- who has denied any connection with organized crime but is known to be closely linked to the Tien Tau Meng (天道盟) gang.

  "The legislature has become a hotbed for gangsters to gain legal protection for their violent acts. In the past, many of our colleagues were attacked because their speeches were in conflict with the interests [of the gangster-connected legislators]," said DPP Legislator Yen Ching-fu (顏錦福), a convener of the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee.

  "More gangsters will make their way into the legislature unless the Discipline Committee performs its function," warned Yen, who has been assaulted and threatened by two different legislators with connections to organized crime.
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