The PCC is an extension of the DPU, an organization formed in August last year in Taipei, with Lu as the founder. The stated goal of the DPU is to promote democracy, peace and prosperity throughout the region.
President of the Legislative Yuan Wang Jin-pyng from Taiwan was elected the convenor of the PCC. Six deputy convenors were also elected: Maximiano Errazuriz, Congressman of Chile; Rafael Machuca, Vice President of the Legislative Assembly, El Salvador; Mac Harb, Senator of Canada; Paul Neville, Member of Parliament of Australia; Paul Hutchison, Member of Parliament of New Zealand; and Song Young-sun, Member of the National Assembly of South Korea.
The caucus outlined seven projects in their working guideline: organizing training programs for legislative assistants, conducting research projects on democratic and congressional reforms, launching a PCC Web site, conducting election observation tours and exchange programs among caucus members, and introducing a special initiative to increase women's political participation.
The caucus stated its commitment to fostering multilateral security dialogues to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and stop international terrorism. The declaration also pledged to enhance economic integration in order to improve stability.
Meanwhile, an International Symposium on Congress and Democracy was held Dec. 9-10, in connection with the formation of PCC, for parliamentary members from member countries to exchange experiences and ideas.
In her keynote speech, Lu encouraged congress members from all Pacific countries to be the "voice and conscience" of their people. "Political wisdom and vision in the congress are needed to make the necessary reforms that can create democracy," she said.
The legislative process of the parliamentary and presidential systems, as well as the electoral system and campaign finance, were discussed in the two-day symposium. Many difficult questions were posed. Under what conditions could a president be impeached and how? Can it still be called democratic when people do not regularly elect a part of a nation's congress, such as in Canada? With political campaigns becoming increasingly expensive, does it mean that poor people would be deprived of the chance to hold public office? These were some of the questions hotly debated among congressmen during the panel discussions.
Roilo Golez, deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, said in the discussion that the tendency in the Philippines was to change from a presidential system to a cabinet system to prevent abuse of power from its president. He noted that the cabinet system was not necessarily better if it meant only the redistribution of political interests among the same elite group.
Taiwan legislators You Ching and Chuang Suo-hang remarked that there was a similar trend in Taiwan for replacement of the current semi-parliamentary, semi-presidential system by a parliamentary system.
You suggested in the panel that Taiwan amend its Constitution to form a cabinet system, thus adopting a consensual democracy model. He explained the system would relieve Taiwan of "conflicts among ethnic groups and disputes between unification and independence." He pointed out that under the present system, tremendous mobilization in human and financial resources was required for a successful campaign and would eventually result in the polarization of political power and public opinion.
As to the possibility of the cabinet system dividing political influence among the same group of elites, You commented on the importance of transparency. "In the current environment, is it even possible not to be transparent?" You said, referring to the recent corruption allegations that had prompted prosecutors to investigate the handling of officials' discretionary funds.
You, who is chairman of the Legislative Yuan's judicial committee, said that the formation of the PCC was very significant in that both cabinet and presidential systems existed in the Asia-Pacific region. Most countries in this area had their own problems, he said, but added that countries could learn from more experienced governments, such as the United States, Canada and Japan.