Lawmakers from the two major parties have locked horns over a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposal to abolish the legislature’s “state affairs forum” (國是論壇) — a suggestion that wasn’t well-received by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, who believe the forum provides the opposition valuable opportunity to make its voices heard.
The one-hour forum takes place before each legislative sitting, with lawmakers drawing lots to decide who can speak. Each is then accorded three minutes to speak about any topic.
However, some legislators say that speakers have a tendency to use the occasion to make sensational remarks to attract media attention, while officials are forced to listen to their diatribe.
KMT Legislator Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) recently proposed to the KMT caucus that it abolish the forum, complaining that colleagues from both the ruling and opposition camps were acting like clowns and making fools of themselves.
Acting KMT caucus whip Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) said the forum had lost its original function and had become a stage for blue-green confrontation.
However, KMT lawmakers have not yet reached a consensus on the issue, he said.
Meanwhile, DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said the legislature should keep the channel open as it allows lawmakers to freely express themselves, especially at a time when the total number of DPP legislative seats has dropped from 88 to 27.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) agreed, saying that the pan-blue camp should not use its legislative majority to bully the pan-green camp. Still, he admitted that the function of the forum had become distorted, saying a review was necessary.
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