黨派、勝選幅度和選區特性對議員關注選區問題的影響：以苗栗縣議會為例

Abstract

議員的選區關注一直是學者探討議員代表行為的重要領域，其中議員的質詢問題被視作回應選民需求的方式之一（Martin, 2011b；Russo, 2011；Russo, 2021）。因此，本文以兩屆苗栗縣議會（2014~2022）的議員在口頭總質詢提出的選區問題進行個案分析，探討黨派身分、議員個人勝選幅度及選區特性，對議員於質詢中提出選區問題數量及質詢問題類型的影響。 在研究方法上，首先將議員的口頭總質詢內容按語幹區分成不同的質詢問題，再依據Martin（2011b）的編碼規則進行選區問題編碼，後再以Maricut-Akbik（2021）及徐俊明等人（2024）的質詢框架將選區問題分為四類質詢類型，依序為要求資訊、要求解釋、要求改變以及譴責威脅。 研究結果顯示，兩屆議會的議員在提出選區問題的數量和質詢類型方面存在差異。在第十八屆議會中，反對黨議員提出的選區問題數量顯著少於執政黨議員。然而，在第十九屆議會中，並未發現政黨身分對議員提出選區問題的行為有顯著影響，反而是派系在多數模型中對議員的選區關注產生影響。 在勝選幅度方面，統計結果顯示當勝選幅度超過某個閾值時，第十八屆議員提出的要求解釋選區問題以及第十九屆議員提出的要求改變選區問題會隨之增加。另外，納入連任議員的統計分析結果顯示，當議員的勝選幅度較前一屆提高時，議員會提出更多有關選區的問題，展現其對選區的關注。 最後，在選區特性方面，兩屆議會的研究結果均顯示，來自鄉村選區的議員或議員的選區農業人口占比越高時，議員提出的選區問題數量和要求解釋及要求改變的選區質詢問題也會增加。

Councilors’ constituency focus has been an important area of scholarly exploration regarding their representative behavior. Among these behaviors, councilors’ parliamentary questions are seen as a way to respond to constituents' needs (Martin, 2011b; Russo, 2011; Russo, 2021). Therefore, this study conducts a case analysis of constituency questions raised during oral questions by Miaoli County councilors over two terms (2014-2022). It examines how political parties and factions, reelection magnitude, and constituency characteristics influence the number and types of constituency questions. In terms of research methodology, the content of oral questions was first divided into different questions based on their stems. Then, following Martin (2011b) coding rules, the questions were coded as constituency questions. Next, using the question framework of Maricut-Akbik (2021) and Chun-Ming Tsui et al. (2024), the constituency questions were categorized into four types: requesting information, requesting explanations, requesting changes, and condemning threats. The results show differences in the number and types of constituency questions raised by councilors over the two council terms. In the 18th council, opposition party councilors asked significantly fewer constituency questions than ruling party councilors. However, in the 19th council, parties did not significantly influence the behavior of councilors in raising constituency questions. Instead, factions influenced constituency focus in most models. Regarding reelection magnitude, the statistical results show that when the reelection magnitude exceeds a certain threshold, the number of constituency questions requesting explanations by the 18th councilors and questions requesting changes by the 19th councilors increases. Additionally, the statistical analysis that includes reelected councilors shows that when a councilor's reelection magnitude improves compared to the previous term, they tend to raise more constituency questions, demonstrating their increased focus on constituency concerns. Finally, regarding constituency characteristics, the results for both councils indicated that councilors from rural constituencies or constituencies with a higher proportion of agricultural populations asked more constituency questions and made more requests for explanations and changes.