Liberty Times (LT): Since assuming the position of speaker in 2016, you have endorsed motions for transparency and consultation with political parties, as well as the direct broadcast of legislative sessions. How have these reforms affected the public and the Legislative Yuan?
Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全): The public’s opinion of the Legislative Yuan had been low for a long time, primarily due to its sessions being considered “closed-door meetings.”
When I first took up the position, I promised the public that the Legislative Yuan would be open to Taiwanese, and that it should be a transparent and professional body.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
People tend to have a bad opinion of what they cannot see or hear, so we started broadcasting the sessions live and the doors have remained open to the public so that people can see what it is going on.
From March 2016 to January 2017, 40 million viewers tuned in to watch the Legislative Yuan in session, indicating that the public places great importance on the sessions.
Viewing rates were lower in 2015, but last year, they soared to 12 million thanks to the 31 online outlets that collaborate with us.
LT: Over the past three years, the Legislative Yuan has attempted to render the office of speaker into a more neutral and impartial position. What do you think needs to be changed? What does the Legislative Yuan plan to reform next?
Su: In November 2016, Article 3 of the Organic Law of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) was amended to say: “The speaker and deputy speaker of the Legislative Yuan should not hold any office in their respective political party, but could attend party activities. The speaker and deputy speaker should exercise their official powers under the principle of neutrality, keeping the order of the Legislative Yuan to facilitate the smooth continuation of yuan affairs.”
The public clearly feels that it is all right for the speaker and deputy speaker to attend their political party’s events.
Next, administrative reform should ensure that civil servants in the Legislative Yuan do not encounter political persecution from the judiciary. Many colleagues in the Information Department are still fighting lawsuits.
I am addressing this issue by setting up an outsourcing center and informing all top-level directors that the legislative speaker, deputy speaker and secretary-general will not intervene in purchasing and outsourcing.
I hope that the outsourcing center would continue to evolve as an institution even when I leave the position of speaker, as it would keep civil servants from ending up on the wrong side of the law.
LT: Can the pan-green and pan-blue camps set aside their differences?
Su: National identity is the main issue keeping the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from setting aside their differences. The KMT mindset is more similar to China’s, while the DPP considers Taiwan as its roots. This is not an easy fence to mend, but policy-wise, there are many opportunities for the pan-green and pan-blue camps to work together.
As for the New Power Party (NPP), its ideology is identical to that of the DPP, but it has strong opinions when it comes to policies. It is not a matter of us setting aside our ideological differences, because what distinguishes the NPP is not ideology, but rather the policies that they choose to embrace.
LT: You have been promoting parliamentary diplomacy over the past three years. Can you mention a few incidents that you have found memorable?
Su: I was very impressed when leading a delegation to the French National Assembly in July last year. As we were about to enter [the assembly chamber], an assembly vice president, before directing us to the audience area, told us that there would be a surprise for us.
Then, [Jean-Francois] Cesarini, chairman of the France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, spoke on the floor of the assembly and introduced me as the legislative speaker of Taiwan. More than 100 French legislators from across party lines stood up and applauded, and I waved from the audience area.
At that moment, I felt the reality of Taiwan’s nationhood. Cesarini continued to refer to me as the legislative speaker of Taiwan throughout the meeting, a transcript of which was subsequently published in the assembly’s official gazette of record.
Another incident that has stuck with me was playing golf with Saint Lucian Prime Minister [Allen Chastanet], who is very good at it, so I never won a game.
When Saint Lucia [last year] celebrated the 40th anniversary of its independence, he invited President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to visit, saying that if her schedule was full, she could send Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan instead.
Later, Chastanet and the Saint Lucian Senate and House Speakers visited the Legislative Yuan, and we had a great time.
LT: Have you been pressured by Beijing when carrying out parliamentary diplomacy?
Su: Most democratic nations are more resistant to pressure from China, but some nations, such as Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, have refused to receive us. In some of the cases, I believed that maybe the parliaments would not be in lockstep with their governments, but, ultimately, they caved under Chinese pressure.
Those were nations that I had visited many times prior to becoming legislative speaker. Afterward, they seemed to think that the cost of official exchanges was too high, so they declined our requests.
However, the Philippines and Malaysia have had no problem receiving us.
LT: Politicians have been jumping on the bandwagon and are cultivating an online presence. What do you think about using social media to promote national policies and campaign for office?
Su: Social media ushered in a new campaign paradigm. Candidates leading the polls might not be leading for long and candidates who are trailing could easily take the lead. Things could be upended right before the voting starts.
In the new campaign paradigm, you have to play the social media game. You must adapt to changing times. If you are stuck doing things in the old way, you could easily lose an election because of disinformation.
However, the ground game is still very important. How else will you find people who can pass along the truth about you and counter fake news? You must have strong grassroots support. They know you best, and they share or post faster than anyone.
The ground game is not disappearing in politics. Right now, resources are split 50-50 between the ground game and social media. If all you have is the digital fight, you are vulnerable to disinformation. The grassroots is what stems the spread of disinformation.
A politician’s organization is what gets people out to vote when the polls open. An organization is how you inoculate voters from the sickness of disinformation. Neglecting your organization puts a campaign in danger, so modern campaigns are much more difficult to run. You need a solid grassroots organization and a social media effort to fight the message war, which totally changes the nature of political campaigns.
Translated by staff writers Jake Chung and Jonathan Chin
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