Contempt of legislature and giving false testimony during a legislative inquiry should be punishable offenses, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said on Monday.
Following a party meeting, KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) said that the public wants reform to allow greater legislative oversight of the government.
The party’s proposed measures would make the legislative speaker and deputy speaker election an open ballot, normalize presidential reports to the legislature, give the legislature more of a say on personnel appointments at critical government agencies and bolster the legislature’s powers of inquiry.
Photo: CNA
The KMT said that the Criminal Code and the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) should be amended to mandate that answers provided by those being questioned in the legislature be focused and to the point.
Those being questioned must provide a response or information as long as it would not harm national security or confidentiality, it said.
False statements and other actions would be deemed to be contempt of the Legislative Yuan, the proposed amendments say.
The speaker or a legislator asking the questions would have the option to request that punishment be applied in cases of contempt, with the votes or signatures of at least one-fifth of the attending lawmakers required to approve action, the proposed changes say.
The fines would be NT$20,000 to NT$100,000 and failure to retract or correct falsehoods could accrue subsequent fines, they say.
Extreme cases could be referred to the courts, with those found guilty facing up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of NT$300,000, they say.
The president should present a “state of the nation” report to the legislature on Feb. 1 every year and attend a Legislative Yuan session on March 1, the KMT said.
New presidents should deliver a report within two weeks of their inauguration and appear before the Legislative Yuan within a month, it said.
Legislators would be able to ask the president questions about the report and the president should respond immediately, the proposed amendments say.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) told reporters that legislative reforms should give power in accordance to the body’s responsibilities.
Reforms should not expand legislative power, as the public would not stand for it, Wu said.
The KMT’s proposals are an attempted power grab, she said, adding that based on the party’s performance in the legislature, it is hard to tell whether government officials should hold legislators in contempt or vice versa.
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