In August 1995, several social movement activists of different sectors united under the umbrella of Social Movement Solidarity Alert. The purpose for forming the Social Movement Solidarity Alert is to have better communication networking and cooperation between different sectors and to push the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s parliament, to speed up the legislation of laws on environmental protection, human rights protection, social welfare, education and any other issues that are of concern to the social movement organizations.
The following actions of the legislators of Taiwan’s three major parties was very disappointing. Caring only for their re-election, they canceled all parliamentary meetings in the month prior to their election day while continuing to collect their monthly salaries. It is very clear that the current political structure is not just. It is impossible for social justice to result from this poor representational parliament structure.
With this social context came the idea of Parliamental Monitoring Organization and Political Waste Recycling. Political Waste Recycling, as proposed by Green Party Taiwan, calls for elected National Assembly representatives to contribute 80% of their salary to the Parliamental Monitoring Organization and social movement organizations. Green Party Taiwan’s candidate Mr. Kao Mon-Ting won one seat in the general elections for National Assembly Representative. Beginning in the summer of 1996 after the National Assembly meeting, Mr. Kao Mon-Ting contributed part of his salary to support the Parliamental Monitoring Organization, later renamed the Social Legislation Movement Federation (SLMF).
Now, sixteen social movement organizations have joined the Social Legislation Movement Federation. The member organizations of SLMF including women movement organizations, human rights movement organizations, labor movement organizations, social welfare movement organizations, aboriginal organizations, education reform organizations, judicial system reform organizations and environmental protection organizations.
The major tasks of SLMF include (1) to settle the priority issues between different sectors of various social movements, (2) to act as a parliament monitoring organization to publicize events in the Legislative Yuan , and (3) to help the member organizations lobby for proposed legislation.