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KMT’s King supports legislative guards
PROTECTION FROM THEMSELVES: The KMT secretary-general said
a proposal to have special guards inside the legislature had come from a member
of the party’s think tank
By Mo Yan-chih and Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTERS
Sunday, Jan 24, 2010, Page 1
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) yesterday
defended the party’s proposal to introduce special guards in the legislature to
maintain order, saying the system would prevent fistfights and other clashes
among legislators from damaging the nation’s reputation.
“There are too many violent clashes in the legislature, which damages the
nation’s reputation abroad ... We looked into effective measures used in the US
and Europe, and the proposal is still under discussion,” King said yesterday in
Chiayi County.
King said the proposal was presented last week by KMT think tank member Stephen
Chen (陳錫藩), a former representative to the US. In the US, a Sergeant at Arms and
Doorkeepers maintain order in the Senate.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, supports the idea of
having special guards replace the legislature’s use of the police to intervene
when violent clashes occur, and asked the think tank and the party to study the
possibility of establishing such a mechanism in the legislature, King said.
“In a democratic society, the minority should abide by the majority. Legislators
from the opposition parties should not occupy the podium even if negotiations
break down,” he said.
King was referring to repeated violent clashes in the legislature — the most
recent on Monday — when the KMT legislative caucus pushed through a disputed
amendment to the Local Government Act (地方制度法) during an extra legislative
session amid fistfights, yelling, shouting and pushing.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators occupied the podium in an attempt
to block Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) from entering the building,
while the KMT mobilized its legislators to escort Wang to the speaker’s podium.
King condemned the opposition for using violence on the legislative floor, and
said the KMT’s latest TV commercial, which featured the fistfights and violent
clashes, highlighted the opposition party’s “irrationality” and use of violence.
King said the KMT was still studying the proposal and would address the
legislature on the issue.
DPP caucus whip Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) said yesterday that King’s proposal suggested
he didn’t trust Wang and said that King could want to weaken Wang’s authority.
DPP Policy Committee chief executive Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the idea of
setting up a law enforcement system “would belittle the legislature’s autonomy.”
Wang and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) were non-committal about the idea yesterday.
Wang told reporters that discussing special guards without first gaining a
consensus on whether to entitle the speaker to use police power to maintain
order within the legislature was like “putting the cart before the horse.”
Wang said that any special guard would have to take orders from the speaker or
follow resolutions passed by the legislature rather than acting upon his own
discretion.
The legislature is an autonomous institution where self-discipline is exercised,
Wang said, adding: “Once the speaker is given the right to call upon the police
to maintain order on the floor, there will be people available to enforce the
speakers’ orders.”
Wang has said several times before that coercive power would not end legislative
boycotts.
“The situation we have is different from other countries. [When scuffles break
out,] there are not just two or three people involved, but dozens,” Wang said.
Wang, however, said he would be happy to see a statutory rule allowing the use
of police power on the legislative floor, saying that it could be used “just in
case.”
Wang dismissed speculation by the DPP that King proposed the idea to weaken his
power as speaker, saying those who suggested so “have an overzealous
imagination.”
Approached by reporters in Nantou County, Wu said the proposal was “based on
good intentions” and “had nothing to do with authoritarianism” as alleged by the
DPP.
Wu said that he respected the legislature’s position on whether to implement the
system.
“The precondition would be that lawmakers reach a consensus on this,” he said.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) agreed with Wang, saying that lawmakers should
first deliberate an amendment to the Legislators’ Conduct Act (立法委員行為法) on the
speaker’s rights to call in the police.
KMT legislative caucus whip Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said that the caucus was open
to public discussion on the issue, but he preferred thorough debates on all
controversial issues on the legislative floor rather than using police power in
the process of legislation.
Later last night after a gathering between Ma and KMT lawmakers, KMT Legislator
Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠) told reporters that Wang had given Ma and the
legislators copies of a research paper on legislative law enforcement systems in
various countries.
Ma did not give his opinion on the issue, Chang said.
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