Although the National Assembly's vote last night to marginalize itself was one of the toughest reforms it has faced, it has turned out to be its most efficient.
A consensus was reached between the Assembly's KMT and DPP caucuses after two previous amendments were ruled unconstitutional by the Council of Grand Justices on March 23, five days after the KMT's discomfiture in the presidential election. The reform was completed in a 16-day session.
"The voices calling for reform in the KMT have been overwhelming since the election, which forced the KMT to make the brave move," said Chen Chin-te (
Freezing the functions of the Assembly has long been an issue of Taiwan's parliamentary structure. The goal has been to change Taiwan's unique dual-parliamentary system -- the National Assembly and the Legislative Yuan -- to become a single parliament in order to conserve resources.
But the Assembly's abolition has mainly been a DPP stance since 1996, when an agreement was reached between the KMT and DPP during the National Development Conference to make freezing National Assembly elections a goal of constitutional reform. As the mission has required Assembly deputies to effectively terminate their own positions, the conflict of interest has resulted in opposition from some deputies, especially from KMT deputies who control a majority of Assembly seats. The KMT leadership has also held reservations about the plan for fear of losing the support of the deputies, who have been a major KMT resource in electoral campaigns.
No major breakthrough was achieved until last year's constitutional reform. But it came with a controversial compromise: In an effort to pacify the deputies, the KMT and DPP cooperated to extend the term of the deputies from May 20, this year to June 2002, while at the same time freezing Assembly elections.
These amendments were declared unconstitutional by the Council of Grand Justices resulting in a National Assembly election scheduled for May 6.
The New Party caucus decided to join with the KMT and DPP to launch another attempt at marginalizing the Assembly before their terms expired and a major part of the marginalization package was based on a proposal put forth by the New Party in September 1999.
"If the Assembly were to be re-elected again, the reform would become even harder because the political landscape would be much different from what it is now," said Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), convener of the New Party's National Development Committee. "It would be difficult to form a consensus supported by three quarters of the deputies."
Wang Kao-cheng (
"The number of seats controlled by the KMT would definitely decline in the event of a re-election," Wang said. "The force of the People First Party could further divide the KMT's strength." Unlike in the past, the KMT leadership showed great resolve in pushing the reform -- vowing to expel deputies who disobeyed the party line and offering to assist them in continuing their political careers, including seeking other elected offices.
"These steps were central to the reform's achievement," Chen said.
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