The Legislature: A Coliseum in which Political Appointees are Fed to the Lions

The Legislature: A Coliseum in which Political Appointees are Fed to the Lions
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
November 23, 2009

Last week, two very different scenes played themselve out in the legislature. In the first scene, Foreign Minister Shen Lu-hsun was questioned by legislators. Like a praying mantis, he held forth with eloquence, heedless of personal danger. Without batting an eyelash, he parried every attack launched against him. In the second scene, Liu Tsui-rong, Vice President of the Academia Sinica, was blasted by legislators to where she could no longer lift her head and look them in the eyes. When she returned to the podium and spoke of submitting her resignation in April for health reasons, she burst into tears.
Neither scene was that unusual. When first entering the political arena, political appointees unfamiliar with the culture of the legislature may react like either Shen Lu-hsiung or Liu Tsui-rong. They may decide to go head to head with the legislators, or they may allow themselves to be humiliated in silence. These two scenes account for the bulk of our recent media reports. The public as a whole hasn't reacted strongly to such reports. Few realize that Republic of China political appointees have long risen and fallen, or even perished as a result of such unprofessional treatment within the legislature. Both ruling and opposition party legislators accuse Executive Yuan of having contempt for the legislature. But they themselves trample over the dignity of others during their questioning. Their vicious conduct is part of a preemptive effort to enhance the "status" of members of the legislature.

Legislators who engage in such vicious conduct during questioning demonstrate a lack respect for others. As a result, they are going to find it difficult to get respect from others. They are in the habit of blaming others. But they forget that collectively they are a group of people with very low public credibility. When the legislature reviews legislation, such as US beef imports, what the public sees is two weeks of wheelspinning. Ruling and opposition party legislators, in their effort to oversee the government's loosening of limits on the importation of bone-in beef and organ meats, have proposed a Food Safety Law. The result however, has been legislative gridlock. The public has no way of knowing just which ruling and opposition legislators proposed which bill, not to mention which bill is more desirable.

A Food Safety Law involving US beef is highly controversial. The "Academia Sinica Council Abolition Ordinance" should have been passed twenty years ago. There ought to be no controversy over this. And yet Liu Tsui-rong was blasted by the legislative committees responsible for reviewing the abolition of the ordinance, and forced to silently step down from the podium. Even more astonishingly, the issue the legislators blasted her over had nothing to do with the Academia Sinica Council. The legislators were clearly ignorant of the function of the Academia Sinica Council. Nor did their questioning have anything to do with Academia Sinica administrative matters. On the contrary, their questions were over U.S. beef imports. Legislators were asking the Academia Sinica to provide research on U.S. beef and the possible impacts they might have on public health. For some reason, Liu Tsiu-rong's response "I will take the suggestion under advisement" sent the legislator into a rage. It was hard to understand why he was so angry. When Liu Tsui-rong, an expert on the history of Taiwan, spoke of her unsuccessful attempt to resign half a year ago, she was moved to tears. All those who saw her then are surely asking themselves, "Why must an esteemed Vice President of the Academia Sinica have to put up with such insulting treatment by an ignorant legislator?"

Each year, the executive branch reviews and catalogs outdated laws, and recommends their abolition. Usually there is little controversy, and their recommendations clear the Legislative Yuan without resistance. The Academia Sinica Council Abolition Ordinance was last submitted to the Legislative Yuan eight years ago. But because the session was interrupted, the bill was returned. Why did such a non-controversial bill fail to clear the third reading? Time has passed, and what happened is now uncertain. But it may have been because the issue was unglamorous. Legislators couldn't be bothered to review it. It may have been that the bill was too controversial. Legislators may have batted it back and forth a few times, then conveniently forgotten all about it. In any case, regardless of which committees legislators sit on, regardless of whether they are reviewing the budget or a bill, they always chase after the trendiest issues, to protect themselves and their bills. Nonsense irrelevant to the budget makes headlines. As a result, over the past two or three weeks, U.S. beef imports and the Sun Chung-yu scandal have dominated the Legislative Yuan.

It is said that Director of Health Yang Chi-liang efforts on behalf of U.S. beef were not worth it. Yang, who fought with legislators, was never driven to tears. But he probably never imagined that the Vice President of the Academia Sinica would end up as the legislature's whipping boy. Shen Lu-hsiung was unaware of how vicious legislators could be. Yang Chi-liang, on the other hand, was fully aware. Having entered the bullring, he could only lower his head and charge. He mocked himself, saying he should have brought along a white paper spelling out every policy measure, that he should have carried a briefcase filled with them at all times. As a political appointee, he had been long prepared to resign at any time, but only after speaking his peace.

When did Taiwan, specifically the ROC Legislature, become a place where one is not allowed to speak one's peace? Years ago University of Hong Kong President Chu Ching-wu, wary of the reunification vs. independence controversy on Taiwan, and how it placed undue emphasis on being born into the "right" group, declined an invitation to come to Taiwan, but instead went to Hong Kong. Over the past six months, the Academia Sinica has been urging Harvard scholar David Wang to return to Taiwan. David Wang has refused. Given the images of Liu Tsui-rong driven to tears in the legislature, no wonder David Wang refused to return. Any scholar with a backbone would probably resign. Do not underestimate the tears of political appointees. When the Legislative Yuan becomes a haven for the ignorant, who amuse themselves by trampling over the dignity of political appointees, the legislature will become the primary cause of a political disaster. The government will be unable to recruit people of talent. What sort of future will Taiwan have then?

中時電子報 新聞
中國時報 　2009.11.23
社論－國會已淪為踐踏政務官尊嚴的鬥場
本報訊

上周，堂堂國會出現兩幕落差極大的場景：第一幕，外交部次長沈呂巡備詢，猶如一隻奮不顧身的螳螂，張開雙臂，口才便給，神色毫不退讓地擋住立委的砲火；第二幕，中研院副院長劉翠溶被立委罵到抬不起頭來，重新被請回備詢台，談到自己今年四月即因健康因素請辭，就忍不住悲從中來，淚灑國會。

這兩幕場景一點都不特殊，初入政壇，對粗糙的國會議事文化不熟悉或太熟悉的政務官，都可能像沈呂巡或劉翠溶，不是和立委硬槓，就是委屈往自己肚子裡吞。這兩幕場景，在媒體報導中，佔了相當大的版面，舉國民眾卻沒有太多迴響，沒有人意識到：中華民國政務官長久以來，就是在這麼粗魯無文、毫無專業可言的國會議事波濤中，載浮載沉，起起落落，甚或滅頂。當朝野立委動輒指責行政機關不尊重國會的同時，他們以踩著他人尊嚴的問政言行，窮兇惡極的嘴臉，企圖抬高所謂國會議員的「地位」，先聲奪人。

憑藉惡聲問政的立委，既不懂得尊重他人，就難獲得他人的尊敬，只是他們習慣性地指責別人，忘記自己才是民意信賴度相對低的一群人。談到審查法案，民眾看到的是立法院為了美國牛，院會已經癱瘓兩周，毫無進展，朝野立委當初為監督政府開放帶骨美國牛和內臟等提出的食品衛生管理法，卡著動彈不得，全國民眾當然無從得知朝野立委到底提出了什麼版本？遑論哪一個版本比較合乎需要。

食品衛生管理法，涉及美國牛肉，算是爭議性大的法案，中研院一個早在廿年前就該廢止的「中研院評議會條例」，總該沒爭議了吧？莫名其妙的是，劉翠溶就在立法院相關委員會審查該條例廢止案時被罵到黯然步下備詢台；更誇張的是，立委罵她的議題既非中研院評議會（立委肯定不知道中研院評議會是什麼玩意兒），亦非任何與中研院行政管理相關事項，相反的，竟還是為了美國牛！立委要求中研院要做美國牛與國人健康的研究，劉翠溶一句，「會將建議帶回去。」竟讓質詢的立委惱羞成怒，很難理解這位立委到底生什麼氣？但以研究台灣史為專業的劉翠溶，講到自己辭職半年還不能離開時哽咽掉淚，所有看到這一幕的人都想問一句話，「堂堂中研院副院長，為什麼要受這種無知立委的氣！」

每年，行政機關都會匯整過時不合用之法律，提出法律廢止案，因為無爭議，通常都能順利在立法院通關，上次中研院評議會條例廢止案提送立法院是八年前的事，卻因為立院屆期不連續而撤回，當年，這個無爭議法案為什麼沒順利三讀？時間久遠不可考，想來因為沒什麼話題性，立委連排定審查的意願都無，或者，其他爭議法案太熱，足堪立委大打出手好幾場，順理成章的就把這個案子給遺忘了。不論如何，立委不論出席什麼會議，不論審查的是預算還是法案，永遠追著熱門話題跑，以確保自己與法案、預算風馬牛不相及的廢話能夠在媒體曝光。於是乎，美國牛與孫仲瑜在過去二、三周裡，佔據立法院每一個角落。

曾經說為美國牛鞠躬盡瘁並不值得的衛生署長楊志良，大概想都想不到，他力戰國會群雄，沒被罵哭，反倒是讓中研院副院長代為受氣。如果說沈呂巡是不知立委有多兇狠的螳螂，楊志良就是深知立委很兇狠的蠻牛，既進了鬥牛場，就只能悶著頭衝。他調侃自己要隨身攜帶一份萬言書，把各種政策說得清清楚楚，以備隨時提起公事包就走人，身為政務官，他早做好隨時可以辭職下台的準備─但是，話一定要講清楚。

台灣，尤其是國會，不知什麼時候竟變成話都不能講清楚的競技場！香港大學校長朱經武，當年因為畏於分統分獨還要講究出身血緣的台灣政治文化，而婉拒邀請，轉赴香港；最近半年，中研院力邀哈佛學者王德威返台，王德威一直不肯點頭。看到劉翠溶淚灑國會這一幕，不要說王德威不肯回來，所有還有點讀書人骨氣的學者，大概都要掛冠求去。不要小看政務官之淚，當立法院成為無知者的天堂，放言高論以踐踏政務官尊嚴為樂，國會將成為政治最大的災難之源，政府留不住也延攬不了人才，台灣的政治又有何前景可言！