The DPP put forth yesterday a number of measures to overhaul the legislature, including a bill that would eliminate a one-hour forum has been used as a stage for political stunts and legislators' antics.
Introduced in 1993, the forum allows up to 20 legislators three minutes each to comment on public affairs before full meetings of the legislature or the second or third readings of bills.
But over the years, the forum has been used for political shen-anigans. Lawmakers have used the time to sing songs to mock government policies, while others have leveled unsubstantiated charges against their political enemies.
The more outrageous the performance, the more likely the stunt makes news.
"Discarding the forum will not in any way diminish the privileges of individual members, as the forum has no substantial bearing on lawmaking," said Cheng Tao-lung (
"Legislators can always make their opinions known in public hearings, news conferences and on other occasions."
To increase their visibility, many lawmakers arrive early in the morning to ensure a three-minute slot on the "hour-long show," Cheng said.
The aide, a law expert, said he was optimistic that the reform bill would be passed by the legislature after the year-end elections.
"Having nothing to lose, those failing to win re-election in December will vote for the overhaul," he said.
The final session of the current legislature begins on Sep. 1 and ends in January. Legislators defeated in the December election will remain in their posts until the end of the session.
Polls show more than 60 percent of the population frown on the performance of the legislature, with a sizable number naming lawmakers of all parties as the root of the political chaos.
The statistics have led some pundits to predict that more than half of the legislature will be voted out of office.
But KMT lawmaker Liu Kuang-hua (劉光華), despite the fact that he backs the reform, is skeptical about its prospects of making it into law.
"The proposed reform, if written into law, would deny publicity-hungry colleagues a tremendous opportunity to draw media attention," Liu said. "Unfortunately, such colleagues enjoy a numerical advantage."
Liu said that although lawmakers can call news conferences throughout the year, such events do not draw as much press coverage as legislative interpellations of the Cabinet.
"That explains why colleagues vie to take part in national affairs forums held before question-and-answer sessions," he said.
Amidst a public outcry against political sideshows, the People First Party's legislative caucus withdrew en masse from competing for a berth in the forum late last year. The boycott did not last long, however.
"It would be easier to abolish the forum if the media just turned their attention away from those political stunts," Liu said.
In related news, DPP lawmaker Lin Cho-shui (
Currently, it takes only five legislators to set up a caucus, which because of the current legislative voting system, effectively has an equal say with their larger counterparts during cross-party negotiations on legislative bills.
Lin suggested the number be raised to 15, which would give individual caucuses greater electoral backing in the legislative review process.
To ensure the harmony of the legislature, internal rules stipulate that if proposed bills gain the signature of all party caucus leaders after the first reading, the second and third readings will be mere formalities and the bills will pass. Otherwise voting will be required. "The existing practice goes against the principle of fairness," Lin's aide said.
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