Lawmakers quibble over Lo Fu-chu's punishment

Independent lawmaker Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) may go unpunished following his attack of a female colleague, as members on the legislature's Discipline Committee disagreed yesterday on how to best deal with the controversy.

KMT lawmaker Yu Yueh-hsia (游月霞) suggested yesterday morning that the matter be addressed in a private and prompt manner to preserve harmony in the lawmaking chamber.

"It may be wise to play down the issue, as Lo has offered to withdraw from the legislature for three months as a self-imposed punishment," Yu told reporters.

Lo, known for settling scores with colleagues through fisticuffs, punched Diane Lee (李慶安) of the People First Party (PFP) last week on the legislative floor.

He volunteered the next day to quit participating in the legislature's operations for three months as a self-punishment. But aides said Lo has now decided to stay on until the Discipline Committee hands down a ruling on the case.

"He is entitled to the rights guaranteed to a lawmaker and will not forfeit them unless he is ordered to do so," an aide told the Taipei Times.

Denying that he might be biased, Yu argued that harmony should be the top concern when the disciplinary committee meets to discuss the incident today. As convener of the Organic Law Committee, she will sit on the ad hoc panel, together with 35 others.

Lo and his son Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才), who head the Judiciary and Finance Committees respectively, have both recused themselves from the upcoming probe.

The PFP, which has pressed for stiff punishment against Lo, expressed outrage at Yu's suggestion, calling it an attempt to condone violence. PFP lawmaker Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) paid visits to all of the legislative caucuses, asking them not to take the incident lightly. He urged fellow members not to ignore violence that has long tarnished the image of the lawmaking body.

Although he is not affiliated with any political party, Lo wields formidable influence, due to what many allege are his close links to big-money interests and organized crime groups.

Independent lawmakers Liao Hsueh-kuang (廖學廣) and Chu Hui-liang (朱惠良) readily pledged their support for the PFP appeal.

"The incident provides an opportunity to straighten out one of the many maladies plaguing the legislature," Chu said.

Liao, who blames Lo for his brief kidnapping in 1996, is less optimistic, noting that his violence-prone colleague was involved in several other conflicts before and was able to go free each time.

The severest punishment for unruly members is a six-month suspension of their rights to participate in legislative operations.

Liao said he doubted that the penalty -- never meted out before -- could achieve its intended effect as members can always seek to influence legislation from behind the scenes. He speculated a mandatory apology would be a more likely punishment.

Although twice openly regretting his rogue conduct, Lo would not extend his apology to Lee, maintaining that she provoked the violence by calling him a gangster.

It is not clear if Yu's pacifist rhetoric reflects the stand of the KMT. KMT legislative leader Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金) said the party will deal with the matter "properly," without supplying further details.

But Legislative Speaker and KMT Vice Chairman Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) insisted he would stay "neutral" and remained unwilling to comment on Lo's bashing of Lee.