Poor attendance blamed for abuses

Poor attendance at the legislature has created an opportunity for a few lawmakers to manipulate the legislative process, and revised rules to combat the problem have done little to help.

On Oct. 30, the legislature enacted a bill that said parties must have at least eight members to form a caucus or win at least 5 percent of the vote in the legislative polls.

The revision, which takes effect when the new legislature convenes on Feb. 1, will likely increase the total number of caucuses to seven or eight from the current six, making it easier for individual legislators to disrupt the legislative process.

It may take only a few star lawmakers to meet the 5 percent test and their caucuses will have equal say in cross-party talks with caucuses consisting of 80 members such as the KMT and the DPP.

All of the caucuses may send representatives to cross-party negotiations, where differences over the order of business and the content of bills are settled. Currently, it takes five legislators to form a caucus, with no reference to election ballots garnered.

"That explains why a single lawmaker can, metaphorically speaking, hold the entire legislature hostage and force other colleagues to adopt bills against their will," said Lo Chuang-hsien (羅傳賢), head of the legislature's Organic Law and Statute Bureau.

On Wednesday, for instance, New Party lawmaker Elmer Feng (馮滬祥) succeeded in forcing the government to allow domestic air carriers to fly over Chinese airspace in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the US. Feng and his colleagues refused to approve WTO-related bills until they were granted the concession.

Leaders of all caucuses may block bills from reaching the floor by withholding their signature.

"That design, in effect, gives small parties the right to veto bills in defiance of majority consent," Lo said. "That explains why independent legislator Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) is so influential."

With exactly five members, Lo's non-partisan alliance has repeatedly named Lo as its leader. The situation is little better with the tiny New Party, which has only eight legislative members. As such, lawmakers Feng and Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) take turns working as caucus leaders almost every other session.

By contrast, many KMT and DPP lawmakers may never have access to cross-party talks during their three-year term owing to their much larger respective caucuses.

A vote stands as the only way to end a boycott by individual lawmakers, which requires the presence of one-third of members.

Though caucuses managed to meet the quorum requirement in the past one and a half months, members quickly left the legislative chamber after signing attendance sheets.

"The fact that there are not enough colleagues around for a vote allows maverick members to have their way," said People First Party legislative whip Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋).

To stop the problem, Chou has proposed punishing members who frequently play hooky.

Taking a milder approach, DPP legislative leader Lin Feng-hsi (林豐喜) suggested publishing the names of colleagues who fail to attend legislative meetings.

The New Party and independent lawmakers have frowned upon both measures and threatened to boycott future meetings if their concerns are ignored.

After the December elections, there should be more caucuses, as the Taiwan Solidarity Union is poised to pass the 5 percent threshold. Independent legislator Shih Ming-teh (施明德 ) and candidate Sisy Chen (陳文茜) are bound to form their own caucus, if elected.