The legislature is planning to slap a NT$30,000 fine on government officials who are absent from meetings in the legislature without cause or try to avoid interpellation sessions. The proposal is the latest bid to extend legislative control over the Cabinet beyond its constitutionally guaranteed powers to review and amend government bills and budgets. The proposed measure is a double-edged sword that will put pressure on government officials and restrict legislators themselves.
If legislators want to complain about absences or take action to ensure government ministers and officials are doing their jobs, they should first clean up their own attendance records. If fining no-show officials proves effective, then lawmakers should face the same penalty.
The public has long had a negative view of the legislature and its members. During the early stages of democracy, the legislature was known for its brawls, video-footage of which was seen on TV stations around the world. The legislature also became known for extensive lobbying and pressure from vested interests.
Non-governmental organizations that monitor the legislature have for years criticized the low attendance rates of legislators. Yet the legislature has responded to such criticism not by trying to improve its record but by listing Citizen Congress Watch as a persona non grata in its facilities. How could such a legislature hope to win the respect of the general public or make the Cabinet accept its demands?
A legislature lacking self-respect will not gain the respect of others. Although each legislative session ends with a proclamation of how many bills were reviewed and passed — an attempt to prove that taxpayers’ money has not been wasted — quantity does not equal quality.
Despite 15 to 20 years of external criticism and internal debate, the nation’s lawmakers have proven themselves incapable of setting up an efficient internal disciplinary system, or of implementing any positive regulations they have managed to pass. The legislature’s Discipline Committee remains a paper tiger.
Following the recent change in government, the legislature is once again trying to improve its image. However, it appears concerned once again with external affairs, not its own performance. Government agencies should be supervised by the legislature and attending legislative meetings is part of the duties of a government official. Only a minority would deliberately avoid attending such meetings, and they should be criticized for doing so. However, demanding that government officials appear before legislative committees or on the floor of the legislature should not become a political cudgel.
Former vice premier Chiu I-jen (邱義仁) and former minister of education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) all missed legislative meetings and were rightly criticized for doing so. But lawmakers should also be careful to plan committee meetings so they do not coincide with the weekly Cabinet meetings or other scheduled events.
The legislature should be respected, but it must earn that respect. Leveling fines is not the way to gain respect. Lawmakers should improve their professionalism and integrity. A legislature that is respected by both itself and others would not have to fine government officials for absences: The media, government watchdog groups and the pubic would condemn such behavior.
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