PDF(2.7mb) - 國家政策研究基金會

144 Taiwan Development Perspectives 2009
I. Introduction
Taiwan completed the seventh amendment to the
Constitution in 2005. It halved the seats of the Legislative
Yuan or parliament from 225 to 113. As a result, 73
legislators shall be elected, one from each single constituency,
and 34 others at large, from among candidates
nominated by political parties according to proportional
representation. Six other seats are reserved for
indigenous peoples. Their term is four years.
The sixth Legislative Yuan, which dissolved at the
beginning of 2008, started amending its own organic
law and bylaws governing the organization of its
standing committees as well as their exercise of powers.
The amendment could not be completed before it dissolved.
The seventh Legislative Yuan, elected on January
12, 2008, has continued to act on the amendment.
II. Reform in 2008
The Kuomintang holds 81 seats (72%) in the seventh
Legislative Yuan, against 27 of the Democratic
Progressive Party (24%). The Non-Partisan Solidarity
Alliance has three seats. The People First Party has one
seat, while there is one independent. The amendment of
the organic laws and bylaws continued at the legislature,
where the Kuomintang controls more than a two-thirds
majority. Only parts of the Law Governing the Exercise
of Power by the Legislative Yuan and its Bylaw on
Legislative Procedure have been amended.
1. Inter-party Consultation
The amendment to the Law Governing the Exercise
of Power by the Legislative Yuan was adopted on
April 25, 2008. Articles 70 and 71-1 of the law as
amended have stipulations on consultation between the
ruling and opposition parties. The stipulations set forth
require every consultation session to be fully taped
electronically to insure transparency and dispel suspicion
of horse-trading by a handful of caucus members
participating. The time for consultation has been reduced
from four months to one to insure an important
bill is acted on in one Legislative Yuan session.
Another stipulation requires the publication of the
minutes in detail of every consultation session in the
Legislative Yuan Records for public scrutiny. Moreover,
if the results of consultation are significantly different
from decisions made later at committee meetings, the
difference has to be fully explained and the explanation
published in the Legislative Yuan Records lest the outcome
of the consultation should be arbitrarily changed
by committee members present and voting.
A four-month “cool-down” period was provided so
that agreement might be reached during a Legislative
Yuan session between the ruling party and the opposition
before a bill was acted on or the opposition might
boycott the bill to let it fall into abeyance. The
cool-down was aimed at getting minority parties to participate
in the legislative process and preventing them
from resorting to contest outside the Legislative Yuan
floor. A long cool-down, however, adversely affected
law-making efficiency. Minority parties could take advantage
of it to boycott for their own political gains.
Moreover, the Democratic Progressive Party ran a minority
government from 2000 to 2008, during which
time a cool-down in inter-party consultation had no
positive effect. As a matter of fact, it was turned into a
tool for the ruling party and its ally to help the administration,
precluding the opposition Kuomintang from
providing the necessary checks and balances. The period
is shortened to one month to meet the public demand
for an efficient parliament while an unprecedented
financial crisis is engulfing the world. Important
legislation cannot wait.
2. President’s State of the Nation Message
Paragraphs 1 to 5 of Article 15 of the Law Governing
the Exercise of Power by the Legislative Yuan
were amended on May 9, 2008. The president of the
Republic of China is now required to deliver a State of
the Nation message before the Legislative Yuan. The
amendment was made in line with Article 4, Paragraph
3, of the Constitution as amended, which reads: “When
the Legislative Yuan convenes each year, it may hear a
report on the state of the nation by the President. of the