Legislature President Wang Jin-pyng says the goal of legislative reforms is to give lawmakers the right to conduct investigations and hold hearings. His comments came in an interview on Sunday.
Wang was referring to the latest push for legislative reform, which has been stalled by opposition lawmakers. Opposition lawmakers say they support the reforms, but that more time is needed for a review, and that it should be conducted after the January elections, when lawmakers would be more accountable to public opinion.
Wang said that giving the legislature the right to investigate and hold hearings would prevent so-called “black box legislation”, which refers to laws pushed through without consulting experts or public opinion.
A trade in goods agreement with China which lawmakers hammered out last year caused a considerable backlash, leading to the sunflower protests and a student occupation of the legislature.
Wang said that agreement was, indeed, a form of “black box legislation”. He said that the opposition had objected to it because the legislature never consulted the rights and interests of farmers, lawyers, and others. He said that public hearings and legislative oversight would benefit the people.