Tue, Oct 19, 1999 page1

• Siew does about-face on oversight

  EMERGENCY DECREE Premier Vincent Siew took steps yesterday to avert a potential constitutional tiff between the Executive and Legislative Yuans over the legislature's right to oversee implementation of the post-earthquake `operational priorities'

  • By Lauren Chen / STAFF REPORTER
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  Fierce political opposition forced Premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) to reverse his stance on whether the legislature has the right to review a set of "operational priorities" announced two days ago, meant to regulate the government's recently announced emergency decree.

  A final ruling on allowing legislative oversight awaits Thurs-day's Cabinet meeting, for which Siew has asked the Ministry of Justice to file a more comprehensive report on the policy.

  The issue is especially sensitive since this is the first time the executive branch has declared a emergency decree since the Constitution was amended in 1991, and analysts think Siew's decision on oversight could set a constitutional precedent.

  The "operational priorities" -- a set of administrative orders which spell out in greater detail how the government at various levels is to follow the general guidelines set out in the emergency decree -- cover a total of 14 issues. These include the management of economic and land resources, budgets, psychological counseling, reconstruction of public infrastructure, and the dispensation of compensation in quake-related areas.

  During yesterday's meeting of the Cabinet-level Post-Disaster Reconstruction Commission, Siew was clearly at pains to address concerns that the decree could result in an abuse of executive power, saying that the "operational priorities" have been drawn up to follow the spirit of the decree. He then apparently modified remarks made two days ago during an inspection visit to Changhua County about there being no need for legislative approval of the "operational priorities." Specifically, he said that the justice ministry should conduct further research on the legality of the impending administrative orders.

  The softening of Siew's stance has come in the wake of stern criticism by both academics and opposition party leaders.

  Although neither the law nor the Constitution require the Cabinet to have the guidelines approved by the legislature, critics said that from the point of view of the principle of maintaining a system of checks and balances in government -- the foundation of a democracy -- the "operational priorities" should still be ratified by the legislative branch.

  "As long as they have anything to do with people's rights and obligations, we could reasonably suspect that such `priorities' carry great potential to empower officials way beyond their intended authority," said Hsu Tzong-li (3宗?O), a National Taiwan University professor and a well-known specialist in administrative law.

  Reading through the list of priorities, Hsu said regulations regarding the expropriation of civil resources are particularly worrying.

  "For instance, the range of rental payments [on land or other property taken over by the government] would be directly linked to people's pockets."

  Furthermore, Hsu said that, seeing that this was the first time the central government had declared a formal state of emergency

  since constitutional amendments in 1991, any actions taken in pursuance of the decree would amount to the establishment of a constitutional precedent.

  "If everybody agrees to forget about legislative oversight the first time [the emergency decree is used], maybe later on nobody would bother to challenge it again," Hsu said.

  Andrew Yen (顏3痎w), a law professor from National Taiwan University, echoed Hsu's comments.

  "The Cabinet cannot constantly use a scenario of urgency to justify the `operational priorities' -- after all, present circumstances are not as urgent as they have been during the past few weeks. The regulatory process needed to implement the `operational priorities' should therefore be restored to the normal status of legislation," Yen said.

  In any case, Yen said, "Avoiding supervision by the legislature is not the best way to cope with the situation."

  The Cabinet's manner has clearly stoked a simmering dispute between the Executive Yuan and Legislative Yuan, and opposition legislators have roundly criticized the Cabinet for "improperly" expanding its power through the "operation priorities."

  The DPP's legislative caucus claimed the move could ignite a Constitutional crisis.
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