Independent lawmaker Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) announced yesterday he would not seek re-election in December, citing a plan to focus on charity.
His colleagues in the Legislative Yuan, however, said that his dim prospects for victory at the polls prompted his exit.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
"After painstaking soul-searching, I've decided not to enter the legislative race," Lo said.
"Being a lawmaker is not the only way to serve the country and I aim to devote myself to charity work in the future," he said.
The notorious lawmaker, who has a reputation for fist-fighting and close ties to organized crime, was suspended from the legislature in April for assaulting a female colleague during a committee meeting.
Lo attributed his recurrent violence to a keen wish to enhance legislative efficiency. He apologized for inconveniencing his friends and supporters but maintained he had lived up to public expectations during his last six years as a lawmaker.
On Monday, prosecutors suggested listing Lo as a hoodlum under the Anti-Hoodlum Law, which gives law enforcement agencies extra leeway for the collection and adjudication of evidence. The law also grants the court greater discretion in determining the length of detentions.
Lo's aides said he needed more time to calm his emotions and will not return to the legislature until next week.
"He will try his utmost to serve his constituents till his term expires in January," Ma Kung-chuang (
He said that Lo's departure stemmed in part from a desire to avoid a war of words mounted by rival candidates in the name of clean politics.
Five DPP legislative nominees have made defeating Lo their primary election platform, saying the legislature can never be freed from the influence of moneyed interests and organized crime as long as Lo remains a member of the assembly.
DPP lawmaker Shen Fu-hsiung (
"While it is embarrassing to bow out in this manner, a failed bid would prove to be even more humiliating," Shen said.
He said Lo, who represents Taipei County, probably has realized that the methods he used to win his two previous terms can not prevail in Taipei City where voters are less susceptible to vote-buying.
Months ago, Lo moved his registered residency to the capital city's southern district in a bid for the seat of the constituency. He had planned to declare his candidacy on Sept. 17, but Typhoon Nari disrupted the schedule.
He appeared in the legislature three times in the last three weeks to defend the legality of the election of his lawmaker son, Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) of the KMT, as a convener of the Finance Committee.
The election was later invalidated by the legislature on the grounds that internal rules bar members from heading a committee for three consecutive sessions. The younger Lo had been head of the committee for the past two consecutive sessions.
Independent lawmaker Liao Hsueh-kuang (
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