Opinion Piece: Shen Fa-hui Accused of Proxy Voting for Absent Green Camp Colleague – A Repeat of Wu Sz-yu’s 'Thousand-Armed Guanyin' Incident?

DPP legislator Shen Fa-hui was caught red-handed on July 24 during a Legislative Yuan plenary session, pressing the voting button for fellow party member Su Chiao-hui, who was absent on leave. That day, a total of 47 votes were cast, and despite Su's absence, her voting light lit up every single time, resulting in her being reported for suspected forgery of official documents.

Green camp legislators pressing voting buttons on behalf of others – is Wu Sz-yu’s 'Thousand-Armed Guanyin' moment repeating itself?

The ruling party frequently uses the term 'legislative chaos' to criticize opposition lawmakers, yet here we have a green camp legislator who was not present in the legislature but was still 'represented' as voting 'yes' a staggering 47 times. This absurdity is being downplayed by the ruling party caucus in an attempt to brush it aside without correction. Isn’t this exactly what real 'legislative chaos' looks like?

Of course, when it comes to pressing voting buttons for fellow green camp members, DPP legislator Wu Sz-yu’s 2019 'Thousand-Armed Guanyin' incident remains the classic example. Back then, during a legislative vote, Wu was supposed to vote on behalf of three fellow DPP lawmakers—Chang Liao Wan-chien, Chang Hung-lu, and Lin Chun-hsien—but ended up pressing four voting buttons simultaneously with her hands, earning her the mocking nickname 'Thousand-Armed Guanyin.' Even the Citizen Watchdog Alliance (CWA), widely seen as pro-green, issued a statement condemning Wu’s misconduct.

Legislative voting devices should be considered 'quasi-documents' and must not be misused illegally

Legal experts point out that the expression of intent via the Legislative Yuan’s voting devices should be classified as 'quasi-documents.' According to Article 220, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code, recordings, videos, or electromagnetic records—when processed and displayed by machines or computers as sounds, images, or symbols that prove the intent of the sender—are recognized as documents. If someone other than the legislator uses another’s identity to press the button, it may constitute a criminal offense.

It is a national tragedy that legislators, who are responsible for creating laws, are themselves leading the charge in crossing legal red lines.

*Author is a youth advisory committee member for a county or municipal government