The origin of immunity for spoken remarks or speeches can be traced back to 17th century Britain. At that time, the executive branch often relied on the judiciary to attack the legislative branch. Since then, however, legislative representatives have been transformed from the oppressed into the oppressors. Thus, western countries have moved away from absolute immunity with regards to legislative speech.
In Taiwan such immunity is provided by Article 73 of the Constitution -- "No member of the Legislative Yuan shall be held responsible outside the Yuan for opinion expressed ... in the Yuan." Article 50 of the "Local Autonomy Law"
The law and judicial opinions extend only relative, rather than absolute, immunity to the legislators. However, abuse of this immunity has been rampant. Administrative officials constantly face verbal abuse and defamatory allegations, including attacks on their family, when interpellating at the legislature and local councils.
Taiwan's legislative culture is virtually a miniature version of its "black gold" political culture. Lobbying for government procurement or construction contracts and personnel appointments is a full-time job for legislative representatives, while reviewing bills and supervising the government has been reduced to a part-time job or just a means to accomplish their personal objectives.
Therefore, it is common place for legislators to retaliate for failed lobbying attempts by deliberately boycotting bills and budgets. Worst case-scenarios include abusively lambasting officials during interpellations or making false accusations of bribe-taking or other offenses. Officials bear the insults in silence for the sake of keeping peace and harmony between the executive and legislative organs.
The passivity of administrative officials in the face of such abusive behavior only encouraged such attacks. These deformities of democracy, substantive proof of the deterioration of Taiwan's political culture, are loathed by the people. Administrative officials should have the moral courage to strike back.
Although legislators are backed by popular support, the voters did not vote for them so that they could insult government officials. The legislators must possess a certain degree of professional and legislative ethics, rather than act as they please.
An important target for the political reform in Taiwan is the culture of "black gold" politics. Reforms should protect people who criticize and expose the corruption of legislators, and encourage the administrative officials to bravely confront their verbal attacks. When faced with verbal humiliation from the legislators, they should file lawsuits to seek legal remedy to protect their reputations rather than suffer in silence.
The harmony between legislative and executive branches is important for any government. However, sacrificing the integrity of our system and compromising personal dignity is foolish and only contributes to Taiwan's degeneration.
The people now have high hopes of eliminating "black gold" politics. To do so, officials must resist improper legislative culture. Legal speech immunity does not include immunity from political accountability and responsibility. Suing a legislator does not guarantee that you will win, however, it is one way to let the people know the truth, so they can cast their votes accordingly.
Lee Ching-hsiung is a DPP legislator.
Taiwan faces complex challenges like other Asia-Pacific nations, including demographic decline, income inequality and climate change. In fact, its challenges might be even more pressing. The nation struggles with rising income inequality, declining birthrates and soaring housing costs while simultaneously navigating intensifying global competition among major powers. To remain competitive in the global talent market, Taiwan has been working to create a more welcoming environment and legal framework for foreign professionals. One of the most significant steps in this direction was the enactment of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) in 2018. Subsequent amendments in
The recent passing of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), known to many as “Big S,” due to influenza-induced pneumonia at just 48 years old is a devastating reminder that the flu is not just a seasonal nuisance — it is a serious and potentially fatal illness. Hsu, a beloved actress and cultural icon who shaped the memories of many growing up in Taiwan, should not have died from a preventable disease. Yet her death is part of a larger trend that Taiwan has ignored for too long — our collective underestimation of the flu and our low uptake of the
US President Donald Trump on Saturday signed orders to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China effective from today. Trump decided to slap 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as well as 10 percent on those coming from China, but would only impose a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy products, including oil and electricity. Canada and Mexico on Sunday quickly responded with retaliatory tariffs against the US, while countermeasures from China are expected soon. Nevertheless, Trump announced yesterday to delay tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month and said he would hold further talks with
Taiwan’s undersea cables connecting it to the world were allegedly severed several times by a Chinese ship registered under a flag of convenience. As the vessel sailed, it used several different automatic identification systems (AIS) to create fake routes. That type of “shadow fleet” and “gray zone” tactics could create a security crisis in Taiwan and warrants response measures. The concept of a shadow fleet originates from the research of Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. The phenomenon was initiated by authoritarian countries such as Iran, North Korea and Russia, which have been hit by international economic
RSS