Legislature speaker denies stalling

Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday dismissed as "unfounded" a DPP allegation that the opposition-controlled legislature has deliberately delayed more than 200 pieces of legislation submitted by the Executive Yuan.

Wang said that in the current legislative term covering 1999 to 2001, more than 300 pieces of legislation had so far been passed, while in each of the previous two legislative terms only some 200 pieces had been passed.

"This proves that the legislature has made significant improvements in terms of its efficiency," Wang said.

According to Wang, 42 pieces of legislation were passed between May 20, when the DPP assumed office, and June 30.

Even during the last session -- from September 2000 to January 2001 -- when the Legislative Yuan engaged in a vicious confrontation with the Executive Yuan following the Executive Yuan's abrupt decision to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四), the legislature passed a total of 68 legislative and two budgetary bills.

These bills included many that were urgently needed by the Executive Yuan, such as the Disaster Prevention and Rescue Law (災害防救法), the Financial Institutions Merger Law (金融機構合併法), amendments to the Securities Exchange Law (證券交易法) and amendments to the Farmers' Association Law (農會法).

Meanwhile, in the current session -- from February 2001 to June 2001 -- 19 bills that involve no controversy have been referred to appropriate committees for review. As to the remaining 173 bills awaiting review, the legislature will schedule them in accordance with their urgency and degree of importance, Wang said.

"It isn't true to say that the legislature has blocked the Executive Yuan's policies deliberately, as if the Executive Yuan had been abolished," Wang said.

Wang's explanation, however, failed to convince DPP legislators.

Chou Po-lun (周伯倫), convener of the DPP caucus in the legislature, said Wang only mentioned "part of the truth."

"Although the legislature has passed many laws, it has also prevented a lot of bills from moving beyond the committee stage in the legislature," Chou said. "The number of bills that have been blocked is much larger than that those which have been passed."

Among the bills that are stalled are proposed amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Law (公職人員選舉罷免法) and the Local Systems Law (地方制度法), which the DPP considers essential for reforms against "black-gold" politics.