☭ marselip0910 叶俊华™

Legislators engaged in physical and verbal clashes during the legislature’s Diplomacy and National Defense Committee meeting yesterday as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators continued their criticism of Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou.

Ou was to make his first appearance at the legislature, where, according to the agenda, he was to unveil policy plans.

But DPP legislators blocked Ou from making his presentation, while criticizing him for once having permanent resident status in the US and for failings in handling the Diaoyutai incident earlier this month.

...

As DPP legislators continued to denounce Ou and blocked him from reaching the podium, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chiang made a motion to end the meeting, which was quickly passed as the KMT holds a majority in the committee. DPP lawmakers then attempted to stop Ou from leaving the meeting. “Ou, step down!” “You’re a runaway minister!” and “Get out and never come back!” DPP legislators shouted as they surrounded Ou. KMT legislators eventually came to Ou’s rescue and escorted him out of the building with help from legislative police officers.

The DPP caucus later continued its condemnation of Ou at a press conference and asked him to apologize and step down. “We hereby ask the KMT and Ou to apologize to the public and that Ou step down,” DPP legislative caucus whip William Lai said.

What is payback? Just watch how the Democratic Progressive Party legislators took care of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Francisco Ou was denounced loudly and then jostled into leaving the scene. This is very similar to the government officials of the Chen Shui-bian administration being taken care of by the Kuomintang legislators. This is also very similar to when the Kuomintang was the ruling party and the opposition (later to become the Democratic Progressive Party) legislators dealt with government officials in the same way.

In our country, it is about paybacks even as valuable time is slipping away from the hands of the legislators. In the end, the people who suffer the most are the people and not the easy-living legislators.

... More than 10 years of democratization still hasn't made the legislative and executive branches come up with a formal model of interaction. All they have learned is the payback through lowly hooligan tactics that desecrated the lofty democratic parliament.

Legislators are not gangsters. They should not indulge in eye for eye, tooth for tooth revenge. Legislators represent the will of the people. They are not hooligans and thugs. They are supposed to be arguing over state policies, as opposed to fighting over turf, money or women. There is no need to look fierce and seek payback at every turn. Just look at what happens in the parliaments of democratic countries: they speak mildly, they have class, they argue clearly and they don't emote. Taiwan legislators, try to learn something!