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Editorial: Yu incident proves need for reform

Premier Yu Shyi-kun was finally moved to anger on Tuesday, stunning the legislature and the nation by leading a Cabinet walkout from the legislature to protest verbal abuse directed at his ministers and himself. Faced with a deteriorating legislature and inter-party struggle, Yu decided to take off the silk gloves.

Yu was angered by the actions of People First Party (PFP) legislators Cheng Chin-ling (鄭金玲) and Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和), who had presented him with a "best rascal politician award." Earlier in the day Chung had quarrelled with Yeh over the the budget for the Council of Hakka Affairs. Yu complained to Vice Legislative Speaker Chiang Ping-kun (江丙坤), demanding the lawmakers immediately retract their remarks. When they were reluctant to do so, Yu left.

He did not, however, leave the building but only moved to a rest area outside the legislative chamber. He also said he would return as soon as the legislative speaker gave him due fairness. Unfortunately, the ruling and opposition parties' caucuses have not reached a consensus on resolving this dispute, so it is still unknown whether Yu will return to the legislature tomorrow.

Commentators compared this incident to former premier Hau Pei-tsun's (郝柏村) walkout 13 years ago. In 1991 Hau had stormed out of the legislature with his ministers in tow because he was prevented from answering questions by opposition legislators over issues such as the 228 Incident and the failure to retire aged lawmakers who had been elected when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) and Council of Hakka Affairs Chairwoman Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) were all legislators at that time. Chen Ding-nan had launched an attack on Hau for ignoring the legislature and initiated a resolution asking Hau to step down. The motion was defeated by the KMT, which held the majority of seats.

The political situation was tense during Hau's premiership in the early 1990s. Then-president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) democratic reforms had not yet taken off, military interference in politics had not been eliminated and the public was suspicious of Hau's political influence as a retired general. It was during the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations incident -- directed by Hau -- that the Taiwan independence thinker and theoretician Su Beng (史明) was arrested. Lawmakers who brought up the 228 Incident and comprehensive legislative elections risked being thrown in jail.

So comparing Yu's and Hau's walkouts is like comparing courage to showmanship. It is disrespectful of the opposition and the constitutional significance of the incidents different. It is also like comparing dissidents accusing the Chinese Communist Party of destroying China to those calling the DPP names in front of the Presidential Office building. The former is an act of bravery given the political climate and democratic situation in China, while the latter is an absolute absurdity. The former risks prison, while the latter is not only free from legal punishment, but also gets media attention.

Since the abolition of the National Assembly and the subsequent expansion of the Legislative Yuan, the legislature has turned into an uncontrollable constitutional beast. The moral character of legislators has become the stuff of gossip magazines, and legislators' heralding of dubious political achievements and the vicious intra-party struggle is nauseating. Calls for halving the number of seats are rising. Looking at the outrageous behavior of legislators and the almost daily personal attacks on government officials or other lawmakers, it is hard not to support halving the legislature to eliminate sub-standard legislators and increase legislative efficiency and quality.
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