Thu, Jun 07, 2001 page1

• Legislators drag session to close

  LATE NIGHT Lawmakers had planned to pass more than 100 pieces of legislation in the final days of the current session, but in the end only a few made it to the finish line

  • By Stephanie Low / STAFF REPORTER
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  Lawmakers ended their session at midnight yesterday, leaving scores of bills for their next session after disputes over the legislation led to delays, and the delays dragged on to the point that any further progress was impossible.

  Lawmakers had originally planned to pass some 119 pieces of legislation in the last two days of the session, but on Monday that number was reduced to less than 60 and then late last night to 10 smaller pieces of legislation that all parties could agree on.

  

  An assistant working for an unidentified party monitors attendance at yesterday's legislative meeting, reporting the situation to his caucus office on a walkie-talkie. The caucus assistants have to mobilize their party's lawmakers and ask them to come into the hall before the legislature votes on important bills. The caususes impose stiff fines on members who do not come in to vote.

  PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  But passing even this proved to be beyond the legislature's ability. Still, some of the most controversial items managed to pass yesterday before lawmakers called it quits.

  The NT$2.7 trillion budget for the central government's subordinate agencies passed yesterday. That budget includes several controversial items like the NT$3.17 billion earmarked for Taiwan Power Co as compensation for the suspension of the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四).

  Along with the passage of the NT$3.17 billion, however, the legislature adopted an opposition-proposed resolution recommending that the Control Yuan look into the responsibilities of Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) and other related officials over the financial losses suffered by the government.

  The resolution also required Taipower to deliver quarterly reports to the legislature on the progress of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant's work resumption.

  The KMT had originally insisted that the fund should be removed, and Chang and Lin should pay the money out of their own pockets.

  Later, however, the party said it would maintain the budget if Chang was willing to offer an apology for the policy move. The change of mind resulted from party fears that it might be blamed for obstructing the resumption of the plant's construction work.

  "We would only give the DPP an excuse for delaying the construction work if we removed the compensation budget," said KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中).

  Ting said a more pragmatic way to address the issue would be to send the case to the Control Yuan for another round of investigation, this time over the "financial losses."

  Other items that managed to survive were the budgets for the Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Hualien harbors.

  Opposition parties had intended to freeze the budgets unless the Executive Yuan canceled an order it issued last month to facilitate the merger of the harbor authorities and the municipal governments of the cities where they are located.

  The opposition argued that it was unlawful to implement the merger policy with the issuance of an executive order. The proposal to freeze the budgets, however, was rejected by a close vote of 74 to 72, because some individual opposition lawmakers were in favor of keeping the budgets and the merger policy.

  Also yesterday, the legislature decided to seek the assistance of the National Audit Office, under the Control Yuan, in its investigation of a case concerning the Executive Yuan's "unlawful appropriation" of an NT$94.1 billion subsidy fund for local governments.

  The legislature requested that the audit office send its investigation results to the legislature by Sept. 18, which will be used as a basis of the legislature's final decision on the case.

  Lawmakers were unable to reach any consensus on two pieces of legislation that would further liberalize Taiwan's financial systems.

  The Financial Holding Company Law (金融控股公司法) and Organic Law for the Executive Yuan's Financial Monitor and Management Committee (行政院金融監督管理委員會組織法) will have to wait until the next legislative session, which begins in September.

  In all, the legislature passed 42 pieces of legislation in the current session, which began in February.
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