While some have attributed the results of the National Assembly elections as a manifestation of the public's dislike for the recent "China fever" sparked by the visits of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Exhausted by partisan disputes and political wrestling in the legislative branch and nearly a decade of ineffective government, the public's high expectations, together with a push by some social groups, forced most political parties to endorse resolutions on constitutional changes last August. President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) administration played a key role in terms of shouldering domestic pressure to forge the constitutional re-engineering project.
Chen and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government have also made an effort to clarify misperceptions internationally that the constitutional reforms would have any bearing on legitimizing Taiwan's de jure independence.
After an explanation of the high threshold needed for changes to be approved as well as the difficulty of pursuing legal independence given Taiwan's divided political forces, the international community should be convinced that constitutional reform will not touch upon "enacting a new Taiwan constitution," and therefore will not change the cross-striat status quo.
It has taken a tremendous effort to conquer both domestic and external constraints to pave the way for the constitutional re-engineering project. Hence, the results of the election have achieved what Chen has called "the first-stage constitutional reform" and an opening of "the second-stage constitutional re-engineering project."
It has historical implications for the deepening and consolidation of Taiwan's democratic institutions, and entails a strong and democratic move toward forging good governance, government efficiency and international competitiveness.
While debates over the constitutional changes were full of political finger pointing, partisan calculation and regional influences, a sound and sustainable constitutional framework can be created through rational debate and engendered by civic consciousness. This is how Taiwan's democratic society has worked hard over the past two decades, when it comes to the reinforcement of its political institutions and democratic mechanisms.
Several hurdles remain, including the passage of the statute governing the National Assembly's exercise of power (國大職權行使法) and the forthcoming readjustment of electoral constituencies. The DPP must seize the opportunity to meet continued challenges from inside and out.
Since the reform of the current electoral system perceivably favors a stable two-party system, both the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) and the PFP have opposed it. It is therefore necessary for the DPP government to build on public support for continued constitutional reform.
Although the pro-reform camp, led by the DPP and the KMT, acquired over 80 percent of the popular vote, the TSU and PFP should not boycott constitutional reform simply for the sake of their partisan interests.
A partisan agreement on the constitutional amendment of electoral rules should be treated as a great leap forward for the nation's democracy, rather than just a political contingency for partisan interests. Those political leaders with the vision and reform-mindedness necessary for Taiwan's political development should take the lead, regardless of whether the reforms may harm them, or the party they are affiliated with.
Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy. This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture. About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of
In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
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