The punishment of independent lawmaker Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) for assaulting his female colleague Diane Lee (李慶安) of the People First Party promises to intensify partisan conflict that will in turn hamper legislative efficiency in the near future, lawmakers said yesterday.
They also labeled the disciplinary action as an isolated incident that has neither any corrective nor preventative effect on the legislature, long criticized as a "sanctuary of interest trade-offs."
"It is impossible to straighten out the legislature as long as it is filled with members with suspicious backgrounds," New Party lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao (賴世葆) told the Taipei Times.
On Thursday, the lawmaking body voted 155-3 to approve the Discipline Committee's ruling to suspend Lo from his duties for six months as a punishment for his violent conduct on March 28.
Lai, who attended the closed-door cross-party talks before the vote, said that Lo's allies from the Alliance of Independent Lawmakers threatened to retaliate if the suspension lasts longer than three months.
Lo had offered to take a three-month break the day after attacking Lee.
"I can sense a strong feeling of resentment among Lo's backers against their PFP colleagues," Lai said.
Lai predicted that the PFP would have problems introducing bills in the near future.
PFP legislator Chou Hsi-wei (周錫偉) echoed the concern, noting that a bill cannot reach the floor if a single member voices protest against the motion.
"The standards of the legislative process will not improve much if voters continue to elect thug-like figures to the legislature," he warned.
Former justice minister Liao Cheng-hao (廖正豪) once said that as many as 30 percent of the lawmakers are linked to criminal groups or activities.
Still, the unprecedented disciplinary action rekindled hopes among reform-minded legislators who saw the incident as an opportunity for the lawmaking body to cast off its negative image.
DPP lawmaker Lee Wen-chung (李文忠), for one, brought up anew an old campaign to deny colleagues accession to committees where they may be suspected of having conflicting interests.
Two years ago, he produced a long list of members who had such conflicts of interest and acted in violation of conduct codes, out the situation remains mostly unchanged today.
According to the document, a dozen lawmakers, including Kao Ting-tsai (郭廷才), Chang Wen-i (張文儀) and Tsai Hau (蔡豪), who are all known to have heavy stakes in the finance sector, all won seats on the Finance Committee which is supposed to oversee financial officials. And lawmakers implicated in legal suits such as Lin Ruey-tou (林瑞圖) and Wu Tze-yuan (伍澤元) have been on the Judiciary Committee whose duty is to ensure that the Ministry of Justice is doing a good job.
Daniel Huang (黃義交), another PFP lawmaker, expressed pessimism that the problem will be addressed at all.
"In the absence of public outrage and media attention, the punishment of Lo would not have taken place," he noted, saying the incident was exceptional.
The Discipline Committee can take the initiative and probe any conflicts of interests.
"But most legislators are very reluctant to antagonize their colleagues," Huang noted.
Lai, the New Party's caucus leader, shared Huang's cynicism. He dismissed optimism that Lo's temporary suspension will effectively discourage violence.
"Rather, future offenders will be more sophisticated in their approach."
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is set to issue sea and land warnings for Tropical Storm Krathon as projections showed that the tropical storm could strengthen into a typhoon as it approaches Taiwan proper, the CWA said yesterday. The sea warning is scheduled to take effect this morning and the land warning this evening, it said. The storm formed yesterday morning and in the evening reached a point 620 nautical miles (1,148km) southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, moving west-southwest at 4 kph as it strengthened, the CWA said. Its radius measured between 220km and 250km, it added. Krathon is projected
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