The Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Tuesday called for more transparency from the Taipei City Council — the only city council in the nation to have ignored requests from civil groups to disclose its transparency-related policies.
SDP Convener Fan Yun (范雲) and Taipei City councilor candidates pledged at a news conference to provide detailed minutes of the council’s meetings and promote transparency if they are elected.
“For years the council has refused to provide video recordings and live streaming of its committee meetings on the grounds that it does not have the right equipment,” said Arthur Yo (游藝), who is running for a seat representing the Songshan (松山) and Xinyi (信義) districts.
While the council offers live streaming of its general meetings, only audio recordings are allowed in committee meetings, he said.
“Committee meetings are the key birthplace for legislative bills,” he said, adding that the lack of transparency allows councilors to easily stall important bills without the public’s knowledge.
The council bans people from making video or audio recordings during general meetings unless approved by the chair, councilor candidate Hsu Han-yun (許菡芸) said, adding that leaving the council with a video or audio recording of a meeting is also banned unless agreed upon by the council speaker.
“People’s access to public affairs should not depend on their proximity to individual councilors who chair the meeting,” she said. “This unfair rule has contributed to a lot of corruption in the council.”
Although the council offers detailed minutes of its general meetings, its official minutes for committee meeting are incomplete, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Jerry Liu (劉仕傑), who is running for a seat representing the Shilin (士林) and Beitou (北投) districts.
The committee meeting minutes only show which councilors are present, what questions have been raised and their answers, leaving out any other discussions that take place, he said.
“How can the council claim to represent the city’s residents if it does not even allow them to fully participate?” he asked.
Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) last month asked all city and county councils to provide information on their transparency efforts, including their policies on access for citizen journalists and the time required for each council to publicize its meeting minutes, CCW chief executive officer Chang Hung-lin (張宏林) said, adding that the Taipei City Council did not respond.
People should vote for candidates who support improving council transparency in the nine-in-one elections in November, Chang said.
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