DPP suffers setback in legislative reform effort

The DPP suffered a setback yesterday in its quest to place a legislative reform plan on the agenda of a cross-party talk as opposition caucuses refused to take up the issue.

The DPP has put forth a timetable for downsizing the legislature and revamping the electoral system in what President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) called a continued bid to further the nation's democratic reform.

But the two opposition parties, whose cooperation is necessary for any undertaking entailing constitutional amendments, rejected the proposal out of hand.

Leaders from the four caucuses met at Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng's (王金平) office yesterday afternoon where they agreed to convene the next session on Sept. 24. Lawmakers should sign up on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3.

DPP legislative leader Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said he sought in vain to get his opposition counterparts to pay attention to the subject of legislative reform.

On Tuesday, the party's Central Standing Committee gave its approval to a timetable for cutting the number of legislative seats from 225 to 150, to be carried out by January 2004.

DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) quoted Chen as instructing the party to give top priority to pursuing the goal when lawmakers return from their summer recess.

Chang said he hoped the legislature would finish drafting constitutional reform bills before December, since they must be put to the public's notice for six months as stipulated by the Constitution.

He added that the country may then elect National Assembly members in June or July next year, and the Assembly may ratify the bills one month later.

Meanwhile, the party will seek to overhaul electoral rules to replace the current multi-member district, one-vote system with a single-member district, two-vote system by the end of next year.

If all goes smoothly, the government may redraw the constituent districts the following January, allowing the reform to be applied to the Sixth Legislature, due to be elected in Dec. 2004.

Chang said the timetable is formulated in line with the president's suggestion that the task, an extension of the nation's ongoing democratization, be accomplished within a year.

To that end, Chen also advised the DPP task force to seek support from the public and continue to push for a political summit where partisan differences can be resolved.

Ker, who was assigned to help remove opposition resistance, was given a cold shoulder, however.

Both the KMT and PFP legislative leaders expressed no interest in the effort, which they dismissed as another DPP gambit to divert people's attention away from its lackluster administration.

KMT Spokesman Wu Ching-chi (吳清基) said the DPP should first learn to respect and observe the Constitution before seeking to amend it.

"It is more urgent for the ruling party to teach the public the importance of respecting the Constitution, which has undergone six rounds of amendments in the last decade," Wu told reporters.

He warned against any reckless move to tinker with the document, efforts he said would incur heavy social and political costs.

PFP legislative whip Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) agreed, saying it is time the DPP government quit floating policy initiatives that have little chances of success to mask its administrative ineptitude.

He urged the president to focus on reviving the economy, noting that the country has yet to come out of the economic downturn.