Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) yesterday defended her proposal to give legislators full control over their stipends amid criticism that it would open the door to the embezzlement of assistant fees.
Chen proposed draft amendments to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) to allow legislators to freely use their allowances without providing invoices for reimbursement.
The bill would also make the allowance originally dedicated to covering the wages, health checkup fees and teambuilding expenses for legislators’ assistants applicable to other affairs.
Photo: Taipei Times
It states that how legislators use their allowances and whether it is proper “fall outside the scope of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) and the Criminal Code,” as legislators only have to bear political responsibility to the public.
Chen also proposed draft amendments to the Regulations on Allowances for Elected Representatives and Subsidies for Chiefs of Village (地方民意代表費用支給及村里長事務補助費補助條例) to give local councilors the same power over allowances for assistant compensation.
Critics said Chen is trying to rescue KMT Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒), who has been found guilty of embezzling assistant fees.
Chen said the laws must be reviewed, as many lawmakers have been prosecuted for embezzling assistant fees, adding that she proposed the amendments in response to requests by the National Local Council Leaders’ Association.
The assistant fee system should not be ossified and such allowances should become available for hiring part-time assistants for various tasks, she said.
The bills are aimed at solving problems that involve all political parties, instead of “saving” lawmakers of a certain party, Chen said, calling on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its “cyberwarriors” to refrain from discrediting her proposals.
The bills were directly sent to a second reading and are slated to be discussed at today’s legislative meeting.
However, many KMT legislators reportedly signed on the bills thinking they were proposed by the KMT caucus and that they were doing a favor for KMT secretary-general Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍), according to a source who asked to remain anonymous.
Some KMT legislators expressed regret for their endorsement and sought to remove their signatures, they said.
DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said the KMT lawmakers knew that the bills would be unacceptable and their signatures would not make them look good in elections.
The opposition parties have sent many bills directly to a second reading without proper cross-caucus discussions, as they try to avoid expressing their individual opinions about contentious bills at committee meetings, he said.
Legislators should be transparent about their attitudes toward different issues, which would be revealed during committee meetings, Chung said, adding that sending bills to a second reading via a quick vote is evading public oversight.
Citizen Congress Watch director Chang Hung-Lin (張宏林) said the bills would also cause national security concerns.
Regulations stipulate that a legislator can hire eight to 14 state-funded assistants, who would have free access to the legislature, he said.
However, temporary or permanent assistants would be allowed if the bill is passed, making it easier for Beijing to conduct infiltration work in the legislature, Chang said.
“Legislators and their assistants have access to classified information, so the assistants must be listed for management and legally held responsible for potential misconduct,” he said.
A report from the Legislative Yuan’s Legislative Research Bureau said that the US and Japan include legislators in the scope of regulations on public servants, despite them being elected officials.
The UK also has the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to handle salaries and reimbursements for expenses of UK parliamentary members following an expense scandal in 2009, the report said.
Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan and Lee Wen-hsin
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