Furor over conveners a sign of things to come

Though the non-partisan alliance agreed yesterday to forfeit its three conveners' seats, the controversy over how to divide the 36 conveners' seats for the 12 standing legislative committees is expected to last until a spoils system acceptable to all parties is found.

The dramatic twist, smacking more of a temper tantrum than a concession, forebodes a legislative session fraught with partisan feuding and lacking in efficiency.

Seeking to calm the outcry over conflicts of interests, the non-partisan alliance told a news conference yesterday it would give up all three conveners' seats allotted to it by a multi-partisan agreement Tuesday.

Lawmakers of all stripes have protested the awarding of a convener's seat for the Economics and Energy Committee to independent Yen Chin-paiao (顏清標).

They say Yen, who owns several quarrying companies, should not chair a committee that is responsible for supervising the Ministry of Economics Affairs. The ministry is the highest regulatory agency on the nation's rivers and riverbeds where quarrying operations are carried out.

"We did not ask for any convener's seat," said independent Legislator Lin Ping-kuan (林柄坤), head of the non-partisan alliance. "They were given to us by the DPP, the KMT and the PFP during cross-party talks."

Yen, convicted earlier this year on charges of corruption, attempted murder and obstruction of justice, decided on second thought to vacate the convener's seat in order to step out of the spotlight.

A convener can wield significant influence over legislation by controlling the agenda of committee meetings.

With only eight members, the newly formed caucus would be entitled to only one convener's seat at most in proportion with its size.

In a legislature where seats between the ruling and opposition camps are split almost evenly, however, they provide the votes necessary to break deadlocks and have repeatedly cashed in on their position.

The KMT, eager to secure the pan-blue camp the upper hand in the Procedure Committee, offered to cede its convener's seat in the Education and Culture Committee to the uncommitted lawmakers.

By so maneuvering, the main opposition party apparently hopes to block "unpropitious" bills, such as proposals to regulate political parties and their assets, from reaching the floor now that it no longer has a majority control in the body.

PFP legislative leader Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧) said that the opposition bloc has made control of the Procedure Committee its top concern this session.

To that end, the PFP surrendered its convener's seat in the Economics and Energy Committee to independent members, who in return agreed not to vie for a berth in the Procedure Committee.

With 45 seats in the legislature, the second largest opposition party could have won only three to five conveners' seats if the matter were settled by a vote, conceded PFP legislative whip Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄). "Only through inter-party negotiations is the party able to garner seven convener's seats now -- one more than in the past session," Liu said.

Seeking to woo the independents, the ruling DPP decided to copy the goodwill act and yield one of its convener's seats in Sci-tech and Information Committee. DPP legislative leader Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said he hoped that by so doing, the non-partisan alliance would continue to support the government's initiatives.