It is imperative that Taiwan comes up with its own constitution soon, as the ROC Constitution is bizarre and outdated, Lee Hung-hsi (李鴻禧), a constitutional expert, said at a seminar held by Taiwan New Century Foundation yesterday. The aim of the seminar was to outline the process for a new constitution.
"It [the Constitution] deviates from international standards, as it does not clearly state whether our government follows a presidential or a cabinet system, nor does it separate government administration from the legislature," Lee said.
Four distinguished international academics attending the seminar agreed upon a systemic process to establish a new constitution for Taiwan. They said that such a process can only be executed by holding a referendum.
"There is a trend in the international community that a referendum should be held to decide on constitutional amendments. The most basic reason for this trend is that the constitution should come from the people," Chen Lung-chu (
Chen Lung-chu added that the highest constitutional power is citizens' participation, which is also the essence of democracy.
Lee questioned the legality of the current Constitution, saying that the ROC Constitution was not a result of the will of the Taiwanese people, and therefore it should not be applicable to Taiwan.
According to Lee, the ROC Constitution was drafted and passed in China between 1936 and 1947. At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese occupation, so technically Taiwan still belonged to Japan when Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) brought the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to Taiwan in 1949.
"Although former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee Hung-hsi said the process of promoting a new constitution is only feasible if the president is re-elected next year.
"I have known President Chen since he was young, and it has been his long-term wish to push for a new constitution. Therefore, bringing up this issue so close to the election is definitely not a campaign gimmick," Lee said.
Wu Shuh-min (吳樹民), a national policy advisor to the president, said that the current system of education fails to teach students about Taiwan's political history.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
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