Thoughts on Replenishing The National Assembly

The ROC held its first set of elections for central elective offices in 1948, selecting delegates to the National Assembly and members of the Legislative and Control Yuans. Following the fall of the mainland and the government's removal to Taiwan, the inability of citizens on the mainland to vote has made carrying out a second set of elections impossible.

According to Article 28 of the Constitution, "the term of office of the delegates to each National Assembly shall terminate on the day on which the next National Assembly convenes." Because a second National Assembly has not yet been produced, the delegates to the first assembly have continued their terms in office.

However, the terms of office of members of the Legislative and Control Yuans, according to the Constitution, are three and six years respectively. Because in fact there has been no way to reelect them, the explanation of the Council of Grand Justices has been followed: "When elections of new members cannot be conducted according to law . . . it is necessary that members of the Legislative Yuan of the first convention continue to perform their functions."

The delegates and members elected in the first central elections have exercised their powers of office for forty years now, and they are gradually succumbing to the ravages of time. The average age of delegates to the National Assembly is 76.8, of members of the Legislative Yuan 80.4, and of members of the Control Yuan 81.8.

In response to the problem, the government as far back as the 1960's began to seek ways of replenishing the central elected representatives. At its Fourth Session in 1966, the National Assembly amended Article 5 of the "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion," and supplementary elections were held in 1969, producing fifteen new National Assembly delegates, eleven new Legislative Yuan members, and two new Control Yuan members. The "Temporary Provisions" were amended again in 1972 to enable the president to promulgate regulations providing for elections to replenish central elective offices, and elections were held again at the end of that year. Several elections have been held periodically since then to replenish the offices.

Nevertheless, senior delegates still make up the majority of the three bodies. The Legislative Yuan, for instance, as of late August 1987, consisted of 219 senior members and 97 supplemental members. Because the supplemental members face the pressure of reelection every three years, they are extremely diligent about their duties, but most the senior members, owing to their age, have inevitably declined in their powers of activity. The call for a comprehensive reelection of the National Assembly to strengthen legislative functioning is rising daily.

The political reality remains, however, that citizens on the mainland are unable to vote. So how can the National Assembly be further replenished and still maintain its legally constituted authority as the voice of the entire Chinese people?

Although they differ in their views on what method should be adopted to replenish the National Assembly, scholars almost all agree that the number of delegates to a future National Assembly should not be excessive. Taking the Legislative Yuan as an example, Chiang Ping-lun, professor of political science at National Chengchi University, says that although the legal total is 773, between 150 and 200 would be more appropriate. "An assembly with over 500 members would necessarily lack efficiency," he says.

The ruling party's policy on replenishing the National Assembly, according to the so-called four principles that were reported in the press on October 4th and 16th, is (1) to "replenish" the central elective bodies rather than "remake" them, (2) to set up a retirement system for senior delegates and abandon the system of replacement by appointment, (3) to expand the number of representatives from areas in free regions, and (4) to establish a nationwide electoral area based on a system of proportional representation according to party affiliation. However, these reports have not been confirmed by the ruling party.

And what about public opinion? A telephone survey by the United Daily News of 900 people in early October found that while only 4.3 percent thought that supplemental legislators do not represent the will of the people, some 32.6 percent held that senior legislators do not--indicating that the public hopes for reelections.

However, when respondents were asked, "If the National Assembly is completely reelected, should a certain number of seats be reserved for delegates from provinces and cities on the mainland?" although one-fourth opposed the idea and one-third approved, some 41.8 percent didn't know or had no opinion. And around 40 percent also expressed no opinion as to how the National Assembly should be replenished.

Surveying the standpoints of scholars, the ruling party, and the public leads to one conclusion: The hope for reelections is unanimous, but the views on how to go about them are relatively divergent. And although discussions continually appear in the media, there are still many people who ignore them.

The ruling party is reported to be broadly and intensively collecting opinions for reference on the question, and it is expected to announce its decision within the next two months. But how to make the public, the master of politics in a democracy, devote more attention to the question is another pressing task--not second in importance to that of replenishing the National Assembly itself.

[Picture Caption]

As delegates succumb to age, the call for replenishing the National Assembly rises daily.

Supplemental members of the Legislative Yuan are extremely conscientious about their duties. Shown here is the second round of talks between ROC and U.S. legislators.

Supplemental members of the Legislative Yuan are extremely conscientious about their duties. Shown here is the second round of talks between ROC and U.S. legislators.