Lawmakers failed to do a good job in the last legislative session as far as the number of laws passed and the quality of their lawmaking is concerned, a watchdog for legislative performance said.
The legislature formulated 11 laws in the third legislative session, which ran from February to June, less than the 16 and 18 laws that were completed by the same lawmakers in the previous two sessions respectively, said Hawang Shiow-duan (
Hawang made the remarks in a press conference held by the Taipei Society in Taipei yesterday afternoon.
She was invited to discuss her research on legislative efficiency and lawmakers' performance in the last session.
She said the lawmakers only reviewed 53 bills, far less than the 153 and 101 they had reviewed in their previous sessions.
"The smaller number of bills goes against the belief that legislators should be more skilled in lawmaking in the last session because the legislative freshmen had had two sessions to learn how to review and formulate laws," she said.
Hawang said there was nothing special about those bills that did clear the floor with regard to the quality of lawmaking.
The dramatic increase in the number of bills finalized in the last few sittings of the session indicate that lawmakers were possibly wrapping up some legislation carelessly, Hawang said.
She said that legislators were not interested in cooperating with the government when it came to their efficiency in finalizing bills earmarked by the Executive Yuan as priorities.
"Almost all the bills earmarked by the Cabinet as legislative priorities relating to political reforms, restructuring of the government and the so-called `sunshine' bills remain at the legislature despite the Executive Yuan's urging," she said.
Some of the bills, such as the proposed organic law of the commission against corruption, which would be under the Ministry of Justice, had been rejected by the legislature's Procedure Committee as many as 20 times, Hawang said.
Hawang said she doubted legislative filibusters in the Procedure Committee could jeopardize the goal of normalizing responsible politics.
The committee treats proposed bills from individual lawmakers and draft laws presented by the Cabinet equally, she said, which is different from the way the legislature in most countries handles government-initiated bills.
In Cabinet-system countries, the Cabinet presented 90 percent of legislative bills, Hawang said, and lawmakers need to prioritize these bills from those they offer themselves.
Even in a presidential-system country such as the US, bills drafted by members of Congress on behalf of the president were taken as a priority, since these bills were usually significant and relevant to major domestic issues, she said.
Hawang also said that it would be worth reviewing the current procedures of the Procedure Committee.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS